not proved popular. While his publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, had supported him in his composition, it had also tried to encourage him to write more conventional pieces, suggesting, for example, a piano concerto for the BBC and a ballet for Sadler's Wells. The war changed all this. Before the Sinfonia, the Ballad of Heroes and Advance Democracy did well because of their political themes. Place in Britten's canon Musicologist Peter Evans claims that, while Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra came afterwards, the Sinfonia represents the peak of Britten's early orchestral writing. See also Japanese Festival Music Peter Grimes War Requiem Footnotes References Further reading External links Sinfonia da Requiem at the Britten-Pears Foundation website Britten, Requiem, Sinfonia da Britten, Requiem, Sinfonia da Compositions by Benjamin Britten