Walton: Passacaglia for solo cello

This page lists all recordings of Passacaglia for solo cello, by William Turner Walton (1902-83) on CD & download (MP3 & FLAC).

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Editor's Choice
June 2009

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Walton - Cello Concerto

Walton - Cello Concerto


Bloch, E:

Suite for solo cello No. 1

Britten:

Ciaconna from Cello Suite No. 2

Ligeti:

Sonata for Cello solo

Walton:

Cello Concerto

Passacaglia for solo cello


We are delighted to announce the signing of one of the world’s greatest cellists, Pieter Wispelwey, who after many years on the Channel Classics label has decided to move to ONYX. In this outstanding recording of mid- 20th century cello music, Pieter makes his first recording of the great Walton Cello Concerto.

Pieter recorded the Walton in Australia in 2007 in several live concerts with the excellent Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the experienced baton of the British conductor Jeffrey Tate. This recording has been expertly edited from the live concerts (applause omitted). The rest of the recording was made in studio conditions in Holland.

The works for solo cello are cleverly interrelated and brings discoveries such as the Bloch Suite (written at exactly the same time as the Walton Concerto in 1957), the early Ligeti Sonata (1948-53) and two works written for Rostropovich: Britten’s Ciaconna from the 2nd suite and one of Walton’s own contributions to the ground bass form, the Passacaglia.

For the concerto Wispelwey plays his normal Guadagnini cello but for the solo cello works he was thrilled to be able to record on the great Magg Stradivarius from 1698.

“..his playing is flawless…” Gramophone Magazine, June 2009

“Walton's Cello Concerto is like a bottle of vintage wine from the composer's home on the Italian island of Ischia… its warmth, finesse and wry serenity are qualities that appeal all the more as time passes. Wispelway's cello playing, too, has a kind of seasoned timbre sound, at once mellow and concentrated, that suits the music to near-perfection. This concert performance... is alive at every point, and has an excellent orchestral contribution (the playing of the principal oboist is a lustrous phenomenon). Wispelway's selection of solo cello works on the rest of the CD, too, is so finely played that monotony is never risked for a moment.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2009 *****

“Walton's Cello Concerto is alive with magical brilliance.” The Telegraph, 23rd March 2009

“The ethereal orchestral opening gives way to a meandering cello line that takes time to find its direction. But Wispelwey's idiosyncratic virtuosity finds the convincing thread. The maudlin chords of the Bloch Suite for solo cello make a seamless follow-on, with Ligeti and Britten thoughtful 20th-century companions.” The Times, 14th March 2009 ****

GGramophone Magazine

Editor's Choice - June 2009

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Onyx - ONYX4042

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Walton: Cello Concerto, etc.

Walton:

Cello Concerto

Improvisations on an Impromptu of Benjamin Britten

Passacaglia for solo cello

Partita for Orchestra


Chandos - CHAN8959

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Celebrating Slava! In remembrance of Mstislav Rostropovich

Celebrating Slava! In remembrance of Mstislav Rostropovich

Live Recordings from Cello Festival Kronberg 2007


Bernstein:

Meditations (3) from 'Mass'

(dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Gary Hoffman (cello)

Kremerata Baltica, David Geringas

Britten:

Suite No. 2 for cello solo, Op. 80

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Miklós Perényi (cello)

Sonata for cello and piano in C major, Op. 65

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Natalia Gutman (cello) & Viacheslav Poprugin (piano)

Debussy:

Nocturne et Scherzo

(premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Gary Hoffman (cello) & David Selig (piano)

Dutilleux:

Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

László Fenyö (cello)

Henze:

Trauerode für Margret Geddes for cello sextet

(premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich and Cellissimo in 1997)

Cellissimo

Kalsons:

Aluzija for two solo celli, cello ensemble, harp and percussion

(dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich)

Lucianne Brady (harp), Andrei Pushkarev (percussion), Monika Leskovar (cello) & Giovanni Sollima (cello)

Cellissimo, David Geringas

Kancheli:

Nach dem Weinen for solo cello

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Julius Berger (cello)

With a Smile for Slava

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Mischa Maisky (cello) & Pavel Gililov (piano)

Silent Prayer

World Premiere (dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich on his 80th birthday and to Gidon Kremer on his 60th birthday)

Gidon Kremer (violin) & Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (cello)

Kremerata Baltica

Lutoslawski:

Sacher Variation

(premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Leonard Elschenbroich (cello)

Miaskovsky:

Cello Sonata No. 2 in A minor, Op. 81

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Natalia Gutman (cello) & Viacheslav Poprugin (piano)

Piazzólla:

Le Grand Tango

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Young Chang Cho (cello) & Pavel Gililov (piano)

Prokofiev:

Valse from Cinderella

(arranged for violoncello and piano by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Lynn Harrell (cello) & Pavel Gililov (piano)

The Love for Three Oranges: March

(arranged for violoncello and piano by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Lynn Harrell (cello) & Pavel Gililov (piano)

Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119

(premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Andreas Brantelid (cello) & Pavel Gililov (piano)

Cello Concertino in G minor, Op. 132 (2nd Movement)

(arranged for cello sextet and dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich and Cellissimo in 1999)

Cellissimo

Rostropovich:

Humoresque, Op. 5

Gabriel Schwabe (cello) & Pavel Gililov (piano)

Etude for solo cello

Young-Chang Cho (cello)

Schnittke:

Improvisation for solo cello

(dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, work commissioned for the Rostropovich Cello Competition, Paris)

Eun-Sun Hong (cello)

Minuet for String Trio

(premiered by Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet and Mstislav Rostropovich)

Gidon Kremer (violin), Ula Ulijona Zebriunaite (viola) & David Geringas (cello)

Musica nostalgica

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Arto Noras (cello) & Ralf Gothóni (piano)

Epilogue from the ballet Peer Gynt, for cello, piano and tape

(arranged by Alfred Schnittke for piano, cello and tape-recorder, dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

David Geringas (cello) & Jascha Nemtsov (piano)

Shaporin:

The Russian Song and Scherzo

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Andreas Brantelid (cello) & Pavel Gililov, (piano)

Shchedrin:

Slava! Slava! Ein festliches Glockengeläut

(dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich on his 70th birthday)

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Neeme Järvi

Na pososhok... (One for the road...)

World Premiere (in remembrance of Slava, for six violoncelli and treble recorder)

Sabine Ambos (recorder)

Cellissimo

Walton:

Passacaglia for solo cello

(dedicated to and premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich)

Sebastian Hess (cello)


Mstislav Rostropovich’s life as a musician was one of incredible creative power. Profil are delighted to present 27 works on four CDs – all of them inspired by the artist and human being Mstislav Rostropovich; either once dedicated to him or premiered by him. They have been recorded on these four CDs as a lasting homage to the maestro.

The live recordings are taken from the eighth Kronberg Cello Festival “in remembrance – celebrating Slava” in 2007, where friends, former students and companions of Mstislav Rostropovich gathered to honour his memory and celebrate a unique artist.

"Cellist, pianist, conductor and communicator par excellence, Mstislav (‘Slava’) Rostropovich remains a powerful presence on the international music scene." Gramophone

“These recordings were all captured live at the Kronberg Cello Festival in 2007, the year of Mstislav Rostropovich's death, and the pieces were either written for him, premiered by him or… composed in his memory. The line-up includes some very distinguished names, and even the less familiar throw themselves into the celebration with commitment and fervour.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2008 ****

Profil Medien - PH08029

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