Sir William Walton

[Mirror Image]

Thanks John!

[kyjo]

Cross-posted from the WAYLT thread:

Walton: Piano Quartet



My goodness, I had forgotten how astounding this early work is! One can hear an impressionistic Ravelian influence in some passages (especially in the gorgeous slow movement), but overall this is a stunningly mature work. Walton really comes into his own in the exciting, syncopated finale. I simply can't imagine this performance being bettered, either. It's undoubtedly one of my favorite Walton works as well as one of the great piano quartets.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Cross-posted from the WAYLT thread:

Walton: Piano Quartet



My goodness, I had forgotten how astounding this early work is! One can hear an impressionistic Ravelian influence in some passages (especially in the gorgeous slow movement), but overall this is a stunningly mature work. Walton really comes into his own in the exciting, syncopated finale. I simply can't imagine this performance being bettered, either. It's undoubtedly one of my favorite Walton works as well as one of the great piano quartets.

Love the recording!

[Mirror Image]

I haven't heard the Naxos recording, but I get on just fine with this one on Hyperion:



All the performances here are top-drawer as would be expected from The Nash Ensemble.

For the String Quartet(s), it doesn't get much better than this recording with the Gabrielli Quartet:

[Symphonic Addict]

I revisited the SQs recently, and I thought they show Walton as an expert composer for this medium. Two highly complex, dense and rewarding pieces. Very impressive music overall. The Piano Quartet is also stunning. I don't remember how his Violin Sonata sounds like, but I guess it must be splendid as well.

[Daverz]

This was such a fantastic listen!  Exceptional music, performance, and recording.  Such exciting and vivid music, now I must check out the full opera!  Stylistically, it's somewhere between Respighi's Roman Trilogy and Ralph Vaughan Williams film scores.  Wow, I loved this.



https://www.wfmt.com/2021/03/17/the-british-project-waltons-troilus-cressida/

Yup, a bit of a surprise to hear Respighi in there, but apparently Walton admired the composer.  Now I'll be listening for it in other Walton works.

Now that I've heard both recordigns, I have to give the edge to MGT for the superior recording.

[Mirror Image]

Yup, a bit of a surprise to hear Respighi in there, but apparently Walton admired the composer.  Now I'll be listening for it in other Walton works.

Now that I've heard both recordigns, I have to give the edge to MGT for the superior recording.

For further listening to Walton in 'Respighi mode' you should give a listen to the Waterfall Scene from the As You Like It Suite. Stunning.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I think Quartet A minor became Sonata For Strings (or Sonata For String Orchestra) recorded by Hickox and Edward Gardner. I am too lazy to research on who did the orchestration (probably Sir Walton). I like the both recordings, but the Gardner is a little too fast.  I imagine veteran people prefer the quartet format though.

[Mirror Image]

I think Quartet A minor became Sonata For Strings (or Sonata For String Orchestra) recorded by Hickox and Edward Gardner. I am too lazy to research on who did the orchestration (probably Sir Walton). I like the both recordings, but the Gardner is a little too fast.  I imagine veteran people prefer the quartet format though.

Yes, the Sonata for Strings was arranged by Walton at the request of Neville Marriner.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Yes, the Sonata for Strings was arranged by Walton at the request of Neville Marriner.

Thanks a lot, John 

[Mirror Image]

Thanks a lot, John 

You're welcome.

[Roasted Swan]

I revisited the SQs recently, and I thought they show Walton as an expert composer for this medium. Two highly complex, dense and rewarding pieces. Very impressive music overall. The Piano Quartet is also stunning. I don't remember how his Violin Sonata sounds like, but I guess it must be splendid as well.

Absolutely listen to the Sonata again as soon as you can!  And just for fun try and hear Christopher Palmer's remarkably idiomatic and effective orchestration of it as a kind of Violin Concerto Mk.2.  I had not bothered with listening to it for years but did recently and was thrilled by it all over again (Palmer was simply brilliant)

[vandermolen]

Absolutely listen to the Sonata again as soon as you can!  And just for fun try and hear Christopher Palmer's remarkably idiomatic and effective orchestration of it as a kind of Violion Concerto Mk.2.  I had not bothered with listening to it for years but did recently and was thrilled by it all over again (Palmer was simply brilliant)

I must track down this CD and listen to the Sonata. Agree about Christopher Palmer who died much too young.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Absolutely listen to the Sonata again as soon as you can!  And just for fun try and hear Christopher Palmer's remarkably idiomatic and effective orchestration of it as a kind of Violin Concerto Mk.2.  I had not bothered with listening to it for years but did recently and was thrilled by it all over again (Palmer was simply brilliant)

Ordered! 

[Mirror Image]

Absolutely listen to the Sonata again as soon as you can!  And just for fun try and hear Christopher Palmer's remarkably idiomatic and effective orchestration of it as a kind of Violin Concerto Mk.2.  I had not bothered with listening to it for years but did recently and was thrilled by it all over again (Palmer was simply brilliant)

A great disc, but this could be said of most from that Chandos series.

[Roasted Swan]

A great disc, but this could be said of most from that Chandos series.

Yes indeed - the original Chandos/Walton Edition series was remarkably consistent and included quite a few pieces that have hardly (if ever) featured elsewhere - it does surprise me that "legit" Walton scores such as the Varii Capricci have had so few recordings - or the Britten Improvisations or Prologo e Fantasia for starters.  Generally I prefer these "Edition" recordings on Chandos to their more recent Gardner remakes

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Yes indeed - the original Chandos/Walton Edition series was remarkably consistent and included quite a few pieces that have hardly (if ever) featured elsewhere - it does surprise me that "legit" Walton scores such as the Varii Capricci have had so few recordings - or the Britten Improvisations or Prologo e Fantasia for starters.  Generally I prefer these "Edition" recordings on Chandos to their more recent Gardner remakes

Yes, I am so glad that they recorded Varii Capricci, an orchestral version of 5 Bagatelles. Wonderful disc of the magnificent music.

[Mirror Image]

Yes indeed - the original Chandos/Walton Edition series was remarkably consistent and included quite a few pieces that have hardly (if ever) featured elsewhere - it does surprise me that "legit" Walton scores such as the Varii Capricci have had so few recordings - or the Britten Improvisations or Prologo e Fantasia for starters.  Generally I prefer these "Edition" recordings on Chandos to their more recent Gardner remakes

Yes, indeed. I have found Edward Gardner and John Wilson for that matter uninteresting as a whole. I'm afraid that the glory days of Chandos are far behind us.

[Roasted Swan]

Yes, I am so glad that they recorded Varii Capricci, an orchestral version of 5 Bagatelles. Wonderful disc of the magnificent music.

++1 - the Varii are 15 minutes of vintage Walton - the presence of just this one recording is a real headscratcher.

[Brian]

For those who buy/bought the Andre Previn Very Big Box on Warner, it includes an outstanding album of Walton's Second + Portsmouth Point, but also an eclectic "Music Night" recital of music that he and the LSO played on a BBC program once. The first big number is Walton's "Orb and Sceptre", but before that, they play a theme tune composed by Previn for the BBC show. It's rather funny because the Previn tune is clearly a Walton pastiche. You transition straight from the very faithful fake Walton to the real stuff.

As an aside, I looked up Orb and Sceptre and it got me thinking. That piece was written for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Walton also wrote a coronation march for her father, George VI. Before that, the most recent coronation marches were by Elgar and Saint-Saëns, plus additional pieces by Parry and Stanford.

So the question is - now that it's been nearly seventy years since the last coronation march had to be written - who would do it now? Who would Prince Charles choose? The current Master of the Queen's Music is Judith Weir, but Walton, Elgar, and Saint-Saëns didn't hold the job when they composed their works, as the Master can call upon celebrity helpers to pitch in for really big occasions. In fact, Weir's job currently is more of an advocacy gig, and she's not the first to treat the job that way; when Elgar became Master in the mid-20s, he mostly served as a dispenser of advice and lobbyist for causes like getting Granville Bantock knighted and removing the K from "musick" ( ). Also: Weir is on a ten-year term which ends in 2024.

So the field will be wide open. Assuming QEII is mortal, perhaps a risky assumption.