Sir William Walton

Started by tjguitar, April 16, 2007, 09:15:49 AM

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Mirror Image

Quote from: Forever Brett Kavanaugh on June 24, 2020, 07:48:03 AM
How would you rank the Decca Litton? Thanks.

You didn't ask me but Litton's Walton is fantastic. All the performances are top-notch plus combine that with the superb Decca engineering and it's a win/win.

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#381
Quote from: Mirror Image on June 24, 2020, 08:16:01 AM
You didn't ask me but Litton's Walton is fantastic. All the performances are top-notch plus combine that with the superb Decca engineering and it's a win/win.

I asked everybody, thanks a lot. I will get the disc.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Forever Brett Kavanaugh on June 24, 2020, 08:19:45 AM
I asked everybody, thanks a lot. I will get the disc.

Don't you mean discs? ;)

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Quote from: Mirror Image on June 24, 2020, 08:26:39 AM
Don't you mean discs? ;)

I was thinking about S1, but maybe S2 and others well.

vandermolen

Quote from: Forever Brett Kavanaugh on June 24, 2020, 07:48:03 AM
How would you rank the Decca Litton? Thanks.

Very good, solid performances but not my favourite of Symphony No.1 at least. But, as John (MI) states you won't go wrong with that set, so; recommendable and a good introduction to Walton.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Mirror Image

Quote from: Forever Brett Kavanaugh on June 24, 2020, 08:32:46 AM
I was thinking about S1, but maybe S2 and others well.

Yeah, well, if you can find the The Centenary Edition (bluish-purplish box set on Decca), it contains all of Litton's Walton recordings.

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Quote from: Mirror Image on June 24, 2020, 10:29:21 AM
Yeah, well, if you can find the The Centenary Edition (bluish-purplish box set on Decca), it contains all of Litton's Walton recordings.

I checked it on YT, the set sounds great.

Mirror Image


Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#388
5 Bagatelles is one of my favourite Walton compositions. Sharon Isbin's recording (OOP) is my favorite recording followed by the Julian Bream. The performance is dark, mysterious and aesthetic.
Also, CHANDOS issued the versions of guitar concerto and orchestral arrangement. As many of you probably know already, the both sound great.
Specially the guitar concerto is great with a minimalistic arrangement in spacious sound, which enhances color, scope and transparency.

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Quote from: vandermolen on June 24, 2020, 08:45:41 AM
Very good, solid performances but not my favourite of Symphony No.1 at least. But, as John (MI) states you won't go wrong with that set, so; recommendable and a good introduction to Walton.

I see that the recordings of No.1 by Louis Fremaux and Edward Garner/bbc have not been mentioned on the thread.

vandermolen

#390
Quote from: Forever Brett Kavanaugh on June 25, 2020, 08:38:28 PM
I see that the recordings of No.1 by Louis Fremaux and Edward Garner/bbc have not been mentioned on the thread.
I enjoy both of those performances and ones by Brabbins and Karabits as well. I have a bit of a connection with the Fremaux recording, in its latest manifestation, as I was in a residential conference in Bournemouth (not on a packed beach like the silly people over the last few days) when I went into the nice small Russell Cotes museum and saw this extraordinary painting of terrified sheep and approaching thunderstorm (a bit of a metaphor for my life  8)) and I thought that it would make a suitable cover image for a stormy British work like the Walton 1st Symphony or Vaughan Williams's 6th or 4th Symphony (although actually the scene is from Picardy in France); anyway I suggested it to the boss of Alto records who then made a deal with the museum to use some of the paintings for CD covers and then, hey presto, there it is - the only CD that I have ever chosen a cover for (I wrote the notes as well for that release). So, a nice bit of early-morning self-publicity for you all.  ;D
One of my favourite versions of the Walton is the Charles Mackerras version:
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"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roasted Swan

Quote from: Forever Brett Kavanaugh on June 25, 2020, 06:09:36 PM
5 Bagatelles is one of my favourite Walton compositions. Sharon Isbin's recording (OOP) is my favorite recording followed by the Julian Bream. The performance is dark, mysterious and aesthetic.
Also, CHANDOS issued the versions of guitar concerto and orchestral arrangement. As many of you probably know already, the both sound great.
Specially the guitar concerto is great with a minimalistic arrangement in spacious sound, which enhances color, scope and transparency.

Just to be clear - there is no Walton Guitar Concerto.  The 5 Bagatelles exist in an orchestra-alone free transcription by Walton called Varii Capricii.  The version of this Chandos disc is an arrangement by Patrick Russ for guitar and chamber orchestra.  Whether Russ has combined elements of the original solo work with the orchestral version I do not know.  It might be very fine but it is not 'authentic' Walton.

Daverz

Quote from: vandermolen on June 25, 2020, 10:41:47 PM
I enjoy both of those performances and ones by Brabbins and Karabits as well. I have a bit of a connection with the Fremaux recording

I had no idea that Fremaux recorded the Symphony No. 1, I don't think I recall anyone mentioning it before.  He only seems to have done Walton's light music with the CBSO.  The Alto reissue is on Qobuz:

https://open.qobuz.com/album/5055354411304

Earlier today I listened to Slatkin (punchy and very well recorded) and Litton (perhaps a bit soft; well not the ferociousness of Previn/RCA.)  I also like the Karabits and want to get to the Gardner soon.

vandermolen

Quote from: Daverz on June 26, 2020, 01:23:10 AM
I had no idea that Fremaux recorded the Symphony No. 1, I don't think I recall anyone mentioning it before.  He only seems to have done Walton's light music with the CBSO.  The Alto reissue is on Qobuz:

https://open.qobuz.com/album/5055354411304

Earlier today I listened to Slatkin (punchy and very well recorded) and Litton (perhaps a bit soft; well not the ferociousness of Previn/RCA.)  I also like the Karabits and want to get to the Gardner soon.
Fremaux's recordings of Crown Imperial, Orb and Sceptre and the Coronation te deum were highly praised. The First Symphony less so.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roasted Swan

Quote from: vandermolen on June 26, 2020, 01:30:15 AM
Fremaux's recordings of Crown Imperial, Orb and Sceptre and the Coronation te deum were highly praised. The First Symphony less so.

+1 - the original disc also included the less well-known Gloria which has many wonderful passages even if there is an occasional lingering thought that Walton is re-cycling some of his compositional 'tricks'

DaveF

Quote from: vandermolen on June 25, 2020, 10:41:47 PM
... terrified sheep and approaching thunderstorm (a bit of a metaphor for my life  8))

But are you the sheep or the thunderstorm?
"All the world is birthday cake" - George Harrison

vandermolen

Quote from: Roasted Swan on June 26, 2020, 02:03:47 AM
+1 - the original disc also included the less well-known Gloria which has many wonderful passages even if there is an occasional lingering thought that Walton is re-cycling some of his compositional 'tricks'
Quite right. I knew that there was another work on that famous recording.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

Quote from: DaveF on June 26, 2020, 02:07:49 AM
But are you the sheep or the thunderstorm?
OT
According to Gestalt theory (it it was a dream) I would be both - so, I'll go with that  ;D
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roasted Swan

Quote from: vandermolen on June 26, 2020, 03:58:21 AM
OT
According to Gestalt theory (it it was a dream) I would be both - so, I'll go with that  ;D

Is that a thunderstorm in sheep's clothing....?

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#399
Quote from: Roasted Swan on June 25, 2020, 11:25:15 PM
Just to be clear - there is no Walton Guitar Concerto.  The 5 Bagatelles exist in an orchestra-alone free transcription by Walton called Varii Capricii.  The version of this Chandos disc is an arrangement by Patrick Russ for guitar and chamber orchestra.  Whether Russ has combined elements of the original solo work with the orchestral version I do not know.  It might be very fine but it is not 'authentic' Walton.

You are correct. Chronologically, the original/initial bagatelles was a solo-guitar piece written for Julian Bream and dedicated to Malcolm Arnold on his 50y/o birthday. Bream may have requested Sir WW for a guitar composition, but I forgot. I didn't know that WW himself made the orchestral version, Varii Capricci. For the guitar concerto version, I don't know if the arrangement was the Chandos producers' initiative, but it is such a good idea.  I really like the orchestrations of both the arrangements. It seems that there are other WW pieces successfully arranged by others, including Christopher Palmer.


P.S. It maybe a worthy topic for discussions if the various arrangements of Walton compositions by the third parties are artistically successful or not. If Walton had made a guitar concerto of Bagatelles, it would have been a more lush and sumptuous arrangement with many notes and passages and less space. I like the existent arrangement, which is minimalistic and almost Zen-like.


YT link for the guitar concerto.
https://youtu.be/X3KOIjhwIQo