William Walton News
English composer (1902–1983)
- piano
- opera, symphony
- United Kingdom
- classical composer, conductor, film score composer, opera composer
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2024-03-17
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2024-02-15 07:23:00
A Lionel Tertis Celebration: Timothy Ridout, Frank Dupree, James Baillieu; Harmonia Mundi
[…] bring the viola back to the foreground in classical music. In order to create a repertoire, Tertis adapted existing material (famously creating a viola concerto from Elgar's Cello Concerto, see my review of Ridout's 2023 recording of this), as well as badgering composers for pieces. Like other such figures (his friend the cellist Pablo Casals, and the guitarist Segovia), Tertis' taste in music was relatively conservative and famously he would not give the premiere of Walton's Viola Concerto, though he later relented.This disc from viola player Timothy Ridout and pianist Frank Dupree and James Baillieu on harmonia mundi is a celebration of Tertis' influence. There are two major sonatas, by York Bowen and Rebecca Clarke, along with Vaughan Williams' Six Studies in English Folk Song, plus occasional pieces by Tertis himself, Frank Bridge, Brahms, Schumann, Faure, William Wolstenholme, Kreisler, W.H. Reed, Eric Coates, Cecil Forsyth, John Ireland, and Mendelssohn. And […]
2024-02-01 07:43:00
Being themselves: the young artists of the National Opera Studio in Simple Gifts, a programme of song from across the globe at Wigmore Hall
2023/2024 young artists of the National Opera Studio at GlyndebourneSimple Gifts: Schubert, Copland, Dora Pejačević, Chopin, Tosti, Gareth Glyn, Rui Zhang, Claude Debussy, Richard Strauss, Brahms, Ravel, Sibusiso Njeza, Otilio Galindez, Tom Cipullo, Douglas Lilburn, William Walton; young artists of the National Opera Studio, Wigmore HallReviewed 31 January 2024Wonderfully engaging and committed performances in song that moved from celebrating Schubert's birthday to songs by Polish, Croatian, South African, Chinese, Welsh, American, Venezuelan, New Zealand composersDuring their year studying, the young artists of the National Opera Studio are presented with a variety of performing challenges, not all of them operatic. On 31 January 2024 (Schubert's birthday), the young artists of the National Opera Studio had the challenge of being themselves, on the song recital stage, when they presented Simple Gifts - Songs from across the globe at Wigmore Hall. This featured sopranos Rosalind Dobson, Nikolina Hrkać, Kira Kaplan, Sofia Kirwan-Baez and Heming Li, mezzo-sopranos […]
2024-01-04 20:51:31
Abbey Simon’s complete cycle of Chopin’s works for piano and orchestra comprised the first Vox Box to be issued on Quadrophonic LPs. Where the four-channel master tapes may be hiding is anyone’s guess, but honestly, does this repertoire gain anything from surround sound? What is more, Andrew Walton’s new remastering of Marc Aubort and Joanna […]
2023-12-07 08:36:00
Voce Chamber Choir to premiere David Briggs' accessible adaptation of Walton's Belshazzar's Feast
Rembrandt: Belshazzar's FeastWilliam Walton's cantata, Belshazzar's Feast wasn't always intended to be the large-scale monster that it became. Walton's original commission from the BBC, in 1929, was for a short work for small forces!After the work had grown, to double choir and full orchestra, the Leeds Festival took on the premiere in 1931. The director of the festival that year was Sir Thomas Beecham and he was conducting Berlioz' Requiem. Supposedly Beecham said to Walton "As you'll never hear the thing again, my boy, why not throw in a couple of brass bands?" [at the time, Walton was 29 and Beecham was 52]The result, as they say is history.The work might be enormously popular, but it requires huge resources, any choir wanting to perform it must gather the wherewithal for an extended symphony orchestra and two brass bands.Now, with the support of the Walton estate, organist David Briggs has produced a […]
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