In 1935 Britten hinted that a 'large and elaborate suite for oboe and strings' was gestating in his mind. However, this work did not materialize and instead he wrote the Temporal Variations for oboe and piano. In 1994, at the suggestion of oboist Nicholas Daniel, the composer and Britten pupil, Colin Matthews, arranged the piano part for string orchestra, a medium particularly apt as the composer's next work was to be the Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. The result is a dazzling concertante work that is surely destined for repertoire status.