Walton: Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor

Listen on Presto Music. Free thirty day trial. Find out more.

When Sir Colin Davis conducted Walton's First Symphony at the Barbican it was greeted by ecstatic reviews – and rightly so. It was as though critics had suddenly rediscovered this iconic work,... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Release Date: 8th May 2006
Catalogue No: LSO0076
Label: LSO Live
Length: 45 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

August 2006

Editor's Choice

Walton: Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor

Work length45:56

$5.40

$6.75

$7.90

London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis

I. Allegro assai

Track length14:45

$1.60

$2.00

$2.35

II. Scherzo. Presto, con malizia

Track length6:40

$1.00

$1.25

$1.45

III. Andante con malincolia

Track length11:40

$1.40

$1.75

$2.05

IV. Maestoso - Allegro, brioso ed ardentemente - Vivacissimo - Maestoso

Track length12:51

$1.40

$1.75

$2.05

About
Reviews
Explore

About

"Davis made even more of the music's roots in Sibelian symphonic processes building up a relentless sense of momentum … If any more evidence were needed that this is one of the great symphonic first movements in music, this was it." (Daily Telegraph - concert review)

High density DSD recording, live at the Barbican Centre, September & December 2005

Reviews

2010

When Sir Colin Davis conducted Walton's First Symphony at the Barbican it was greeted by ecstatic reviews – and rightly so. It was as though critics had suddenly rediscovered this iconic work, which so tellingly reflects the mood of uncertainty and tension in the 1930s. The recording bears out that response: the hushed opening seems as though the music is only just emerging into human consciousness. The mystery quickly evaporates as the nagging syncopations of the ostinato figure become more insistent, developing into a powerful climax. The clarity of texture and sharpness of attack add to the impact, with Davis at ease with the jazz element and finding more light and shade than is common. The Scherzo brings big contrasts too; the slow movement sounds as haunting as the opening and then brings warmly lyrical ideas. The extrovert finale again brings clarity in the contrapuntal writing of successive fugatos, leading to a ripe conclusion.
This new recording, the first version on SACD at a low price, finds a welcome place. Yet it is amazing how well the benchmark recording, André Previn's 1966 reading with the LSO (now contained in a two-CD Walton collection – see below), stands up. The sound is fatter, more punchy than on Davis's disc and Previn, early in his conducting career in the UK, is more biting, in the slow movement conveying a chill that exactly suits Walton's sweet-sour inspiration.
This music may have been inspired by a frustrated love affair rather than anything to do with world politics, but it stands as a symbol of its times, and Previn powerfully conveys that. Meanwhile, this new disc earns a very warm welcome.

Walton: Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor

Downloads

Contents

Download queue