Walton: The Symphonies

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The French players seem perfectly drilled in the intricate rhythmic complexities of Walton's often jagged writing in these highly enjoyable performances, which also bring out the lyrical warmth... — Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2010 More…

Release Date: 26th Jul 2010
Catalogue No: BISSACD1646
Label: BIS
Length: 70 minutes

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Walton: Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor

Work length43:31

$6.60

$12.85

$17.50

Orchestre National de Lille
Owain Arwel Hughes
Recorded: October 2008
Recording Venue: Auditorium du Nouveau Siecle, Lille, France

I. Allegro assai

Track length13:55

$2.05

$3.85

$5.25

II. Presto con malizia

Track length6:36

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Andante con malinconia

Track length10:02

$1.50

$3.85

$5.25

IV. Maestoso: Allegro brioso ed ardentemente

Track length12:58

$2.05

$3.85

$5.25

Walton: Symphony No. 2

Work length27:07

$4.50

$7.80

$10.50

Orchestre National de Lille
Owain Arwel Hughes
Recorded: October 2008
Recording Venue: Auditorium du Nouveau Siecle, Lille, France

I. Allegro molto

Track length8:50

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

II. Lento assai

Track length9:11

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

III. Finale. Passacaglia - Coda. Scherzando

Track length9:06

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

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Rarely appearing together on disc, William Walton’s two symphonies are separated by some 25 years. The First Symphony was composed after his dazzling early success, beginning with Façade and culminating in two scores written before Walton reached the age of thirty: the Viola Concerto and the oratorio Belshazzar’s Feast. After this, composition became more difficult, and progress on the symphony was tortuous and protracted. Nevertheless, the work has a strikingly positive tone – perhaps in celebration of the victory over the many demons and difficulties that had attended its creation. 22 years later, in 1957, the musical world was a very different place, but Walton’s response was not to seek solace in reflective nostalgia. It is rather as if he conceived the Second Symphony as a follow-up to his terse and bubbly Partita for orchestra, building on the confidence that the success of that score had given the always self-doubting composer. Owain Arwel Hughes, who conducts the present recording, first made his name with an electrifying televised performance of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast which received a notable accolade from the composer. On this recording he brings Walton across the English Channel and conducts one of the leading French orchestras, Orchestre national de Lille, for their first appearance on the BIS label.

Reviews

Awards Issue 2010

The French players seem perfectly drilled in the intricate rhythmic complexities of Walton's often jagged writing in these highly enjoyable performances, which also bring out the lyrical warmth of Walton's endlessly memorable melodies

8th August 2010

One readily sees Walton’s music as a native, untransplantable growth, but here is a French orchestra relishing his symphonies... Hughes is an old hand with British music, and secures persuasive accounts of both

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