Walton: Symphony No. 1 - Violin Concerto Tasmin Little, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Edward Gardner

• William Walton (1902 - 1983): Symphony No. 1:
• 1 Symphony No. 1: I. Allegro assai 13:41
• 2 Symphony No. 1: II. Presto con malizia 05:46
• 3 Symphony No. 1: III. Andante con malinconia 10:56
• 4 Symphony No. 1: IV. Maestoso. Allegro brioso ed ardentemente 12:29
• Violin Concerto:
• 5 Violin Concerto: I. Andante tranquillo (1943 Version) 12:12
• 6 Violin Concerto: II. Presto capriccioso alla napolitana (1943 Version) 06:58
• 7 Violin Concerto: III. Vivace (1943 Version) 13:43
• Total Runtime 01:15:45

Info for Walton: Symphony No. 1 - Violin Concerto

Edward Gardner, a Chandos exclusive artist, conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in two great masterpieces by William Walton, his Violin Concerto and the Symphony No. 1.

Walton burst onto the British musical scene in his twenties, the success of works such as Façade, the Viola Concerto, and Belshazzar’s Feast establishing him in both the avant-garde and the mainstream of British composers. The obvious next step for Walton was to compose a symphony and he was duly commissioned to do so by Sir Hamilton Harty in 1932. The first complete performance of his Symphony No. 1, in 1935, was a triumph, immediately gaining the work an honoured place in British music which it has never lost. It is a highly virtuosic work with a remarkable expressive range, in turns powerful and broad, malicious, melancholic, and majestic.

The Violin Concerto was written in 1938 in response to a commission from Jascha Heifetz. The solo part reflects not only the legendary virtuosity for which Heifetz was famous, but also the sweetness and purity of his playing of long lyrical lines. In this recording the soloist is Tasmin Little whose acclaimed recordings of concertos by Britten, Elgar, Delius, and Moeran on Chandos have already established her as one of the foremost interpreters of British music for the violin.

“Tasmin Little introduces an extra dimension of meditation to the dreamy opening melody of Walton’s Violin Concerto … There is certainly no lack of outgoing exciting brilliance in the bravura passages of the central scherzo, though it is the beautifully silky tone Little brings to the many introspective moments that will particularly recommend her performance. With Edward Gardner energising the BBC Symphony Orchestra players, the score’s wide dynamic swings are well captured … In Gardner’s hands the Symphony has a fine sense of urgency and is full of youthful vigour, volatility and orchestral virtuosity … Chandos’s sound is admirably balances in the concerto, with high impact and ample reverberation.” (David Denton, The Strad.com)

"Edward Gardner presides over blisteringly eloquent and splendidly unbuttoned accounts of both these Walton masterworks … Heaps to savour and cherish, in sum; certainly, seasoned Waltonians will have a ball. With magnificently truthful sound and judicious balance throughout, this terrific coupling should be snapped up without delay.” (Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone magazine)

Tasmin Littlem, violin
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor

No biography found.

Booklet for Walton: Symphony No. 1 - Violin Concerto