These two pieces were written by Britten in 1935 for the oboist Sylvia Spencer, who had played in early performances of his Phantasy Quartet, Op. 2. The first performances of The Grasshopper and The Wasp did not take place until 1979, when they were performed by Janet Craxton and Margot Wright as part of a memorial concert for Sylvia Spencer at the Royal College Of Music, Manchester, England.