Sir William Walton

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

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vandermolen

Quote from: relm1 on July 14, 2020, 06:04:47 AM
Andre Previn/LSO is my favorite version of No. 1.  Dark and powerful first movement, pungent second, incredibly moving third movement, rapturous finale.
One of the few things we disagree on but I must give it another listen to.
"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).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

My vote for the Boult and the Thomson(Chandos) recordings!  :) :) :)

Quote from: relm1 on July 14, 2020, 06:04:47 AM
Andre Previn/LSO is my favorite version of No. 1.  Dark and powerful first movement, pungent second, incredibly moving third movement, rapturous finale.

Roasted Swan

Quote from: Biffo on July 14, 2020, 06:34:25 AM
+1 - if you mean the RCA recording, better than his remake for EMI. The only other version I have is Rattle/CBSO which failed to grip me in the same way Previn did, can't remember why.

Telarc/RPO not EMI - he only recorded Symphony 2 with the LSO for EMI

vandermolen

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 14, 2020, 07:22:07 AM
My vote for the Boult and the Thomson(Chandos) recordings!  :) :) :)
Mine are Boult, Thomson, Mackerras, Haitink, Harty.
"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).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Agree. I am afraid, I must check the Harty 1. Never heard of it.

Quote from: vandermolen on July 14, 2020, 07:54:21 AM
Mine are Boult, Thomson, Mackerras, Haitink, Harty.

vandermolen

#505
Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 14, 2020, 07:57:16 AM
Agree. I am afraid, I must check the Harty 1. Never heard of it.
I forgot Sargent  :o
You have to hear the Harty DBK. It's very old but riveting. He conducted the first performance. CD/LP covers below:



And here it is! Recorded in a warehouse in 1935:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eJbFXTt_zMI
The sound quality was better on the CD and LP than it is here but you get some idea of the electrifying performance.
The climax of the first movement from about 9:30 gives you some idea of what it is like.
"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).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#506
😍😍😍

I will check it!


P.s. The London cover looks soooo cool and hip.


Quote from: vandermolen on July 14, 2020, 08:02:24 AM
I forgot Sargent  :o
You have to hear the Harty DBK. It's very old but riveting. He conducted the first performance. CD/LP covers below:



And here it is! Recorded in a warehouse in 1935:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eJbFXTt_zMI
The sound quality was better on the CD and LP than it is here but you get some idea of the electrifying performance.
The climax of the first movement from about 9:30 gives you some idea of what it is like.

vandermolen

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 14, 2020, 08:34:38 AM
😍😍😍

I will check it!


P.s. The London cover looks soooo cool and hip.
:) :)
"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).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

I think the Karabits set is very good too and it is somehow underrated.

Quote from: vandermolen on July 14, 2020, 07:54:21 AM
Mine are Boult, Thomson, Mackerras, Haitink, Harty.

vandermolen

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 14, 2020, 12:29:38 PM
I think the Karabits set is very good too and it is somehow underrated.
Yes, that's quite true and Brabbins as well I think.
"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

#510
Here are two more recordings with lesser-known orchestras which I also thought highly of:
[/img]

I see that I did an Amazon review for the Karabits recording:

This CD includes the best performance of Symphony No.2 that I have heard. Symphony 2 lives rather in the shadow of Symphony 1, one of the greatest British symphonies ever composed. Here, however, the Second Symphony is performed with an urgency and rhythmic tension which sets it apart, in my opinion, from any other performance. The spectacular recording adds to the impact of the work. One jazzy section reminded me of Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from 'West Side Story' - altogether a marvellous performance and recording and all credit to Kirill Karabits and the excellent Bournemoth SO. I can't imagine that anyone would be disappointed by the performance of Symphony 1 either. The important oboe solo at the start conveys the nervous tension which is missing from many other performances, including the much lauded Previn LSO version. I actually prefer the contemporaneous recording from Malcolm Sargent and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Karabits's new version is powerful and urgent. The final chords are spaced out just right and the cumulative tension of the opening movement culminates in an appropriate sense of catharsis at the inexorable climax. Other great versions of Symphony 1 come from Bryden Thomson, Boult (Studio recording) and Mackerras.
Altogether a fine new release.
"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).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#511
Thank you, Jeffrey. The two albums look VERY interesting! I will check these albums soon. Also, I need more time for the No. 2.
Any possibility you may rank the Karabits no. 1 with, or higher than, the Sargent and Mackerras recordings?

Quote from: vandermolen on July 14, 2020, 12:45:35 PM
Here are two more recordings with lesser-known orchestras which I also thought highly of:
[/img]

I see that I did an Amazon review for the Karabits recording:

This CD includes the best performance of Symphony No.2 that I have heard. Symphony 2 lives rather in the shadow of Symphony 1, one of the greatest British symphonies ever composed. Here, however, the Second Symphony is performed with an urgency and rhythmic tension which sets it apart, in my opinion, from any other performance. The spectacular recording adds to the impact of the work. One jazzy section reminded me of Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from 'West Side Story' - altogether a marvellous performance and recording and all credit to Kirill Karabits and the excellent Bournemoth SO. I can't imagine that anyone would be disappointed by the performance of Symphony 1 either. The important oboe solo at the start conveys the nervous tension which is missing from many other performances, including the much lauded Previn LSO version. I actually prefer the contemporaneous recording from Malcolm Sargent and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Karabits's new version is powerful and urgent. The final chords are spaced out just right and the cumulative tension of the opening movement culminates in an appropriate sense of catharsis at the inexorable climax. Other great versions of Symphony 1 come from Bryden Thomson, Boult (Studio recording) and Mackerras.
Altogether a fine new release.

vandermolen

#512
Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 14, 2020, 01:12:39 PM
Thank you, Jeffrey. The two albums look VERY interesting! I will check these albums soon. Also, I need more time for the No. 2.
Any possibility you may rank the Karabits no. 1 with, or higher than, the Sargent and Mackerras recordings?
I need to listen to it again DBK, which I'll try to do later today. Of course it benefits from a more modern recording.
The version with the New Haven SO is well worth exploring (posted above) as is, perhaps surprisingly, the version performed by Symphony Orchestra of Grand Canary. I thought that it didn't start off very promisingly but gained cumulative power until, by the end, I was totally gripped by it. I think that the last movement is one of the most impressive versions I have heard.
"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 July 14, 2020, 10:39:51 PM
I need to listen to it again DBK, which I'll try to do later today. Of course it benefits from a more modern recording.
The version with the New Haven SO is well worth exploring (posted above) as is, perhaps surprisingly, the version performed by Symphony Orchestra of Grand Canary. I thought that it didn't start off very promisingly but gained cumulative power until, by the end, I was totally gripped by it. I think that the last movement is one of the most impressive versions I have heard.

Interestingly the same Grand Canary orchestra turn in a very respectable - but all but unknown - version of the the VERY hard Korngold Symphony.  Perhaps not top top of the pile but well worth a listen


Biffo

Quote from: Roasted Swan on July 14, 2020, 07:26:25 AM
Telarc/RPO not EMI - he only recorded Symphony 2 with the LSO for EMI

Thanks for the info. I was sure Previn's second recording of No 1 was with the RPO but when I searched Amazon and Google I couldn't find it. Probably because I was looking for an EMI recording that didn't exist or I wasn't being careful enough with what I did find (No 2).

vandermolen

Quote from: Biffo on July 15, 2020, 01:16:12 AM
Thanks for the info. I was sure Previn's second recording of No 1 was with the RPO but when I searched Amazon and Google I couldn't find it. Probably because I was looking for an EMI recording that didn't exist or I wasn't being careful enough with what I did find (No 2).
I typed in 'Amazon Walton Telarc' and this came up:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Walton-Symphony-Sceptre-Crown-Imperial/dp/B00000E8O1
"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: Roasted Swan on July 14, 2020, 11:50:41 PM
Interestingly the same Grand Canary orchestra turn in a very respectable - but all but unknown - version of the the VERY hard Korngold Symphony.  Perhaps not top top of the pile but well worth a listen



How very interesting! I shall look out for that as I like the work so much that I'm always interested to hear different interpretations. I've also been impressed generally by performances conducted by Adrian Leaper, who conducted Walton's First Symphony with them.
"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).

Biffo

Quote from: vandermolen on July 15, 2020, 03:06:24 AM
I typed in 'Amazon Walton Telarc' and this came up:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Walton-Symphony-Sceptre-Crown-Imperial/dp/B00000E8O1

Yes, but I didn't know it was a Telarc disc I was looking for but thanks all the same. I will stick with Previn/LSO. Walton is not a core composer for me and I am happy with the modest collection I have already.

vandermolen

#518
Quote from: Roasted Swan on July 14, 2020, 11:50:41 PM
Interestingly the same Grand Canary orchestra turn in a very respectable - but all but unknown - version of the the VERY hard Korngold Symphony.  Perhaps not top top of the pile but well worth a listen


OT

It's very well reviewed at the end of this comparative survey. Just above the chart. There is a hard copy CD now but it is full price:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/June11/Korngold_Lace.htm
"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).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

I listened the (premier) recording ï¼”times so far. The performance is phenomenal, penetrating and dynamic. All the movements were greatly done and remarkably animated- especially the final movement is astonishing (personally, my favorite interpretation ever). This is the the LSO in the 30s- I can't believe! I am in awe. They are impeccable- they ascend and fly like an eagle. Were the performance recorded in today's recording, it would have been one of the most vigorous and most remarkable recordings (or just "the" most remarkable recording). I will keep listening to this recording. Thank you for the recommendation.

(Is the Boult rendition/approach a little similar to the Harty/LSO ?)



Quote from: vandermolen on July 14, 2020, 08:02:24 AM
I forgot Sargent  :o
You have to hear the Harty DBK. It's very old but riveting. He conducted the first performance. CD/LP covers below:



And here it is! Recorded in a warehouse in 1935:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eJbFXTt_zMI
The sound quality was better on the CD and LP than it is here but you get some idea of the electrifying performance.
The climax of the first movement from about 9:30 gives you some idea of what it is like.