Concerto for viola and orchestra by william walton 19021983. Among the works written by walton around the same time are the march crown imperial and in honour of the city of london for double chorus and orchestra both. The viola concerto by william walton was written in 1929 for the violist lionel tertis at the suggestion of the conductor sir thomas beecham. Violist to play william walton viola concerto albuquerque. In the more familiar revised version of 1961 the composer reduced these forces a little double woodwind, two trumpets and no tuba, and added a harp. Sort this list by work type, instrumentation, composer, and more. The viola concerto it was sir thomas beecham who suggested, in 1928, that walton should write a viola concerto for lionel tertis. Prokofievs concerto also has a scherzo for its second movement as well as a relatively slowmoving first movement. Walton viola concerto max derrickson max derrickson.
The viola concerto was largely composed in 192829 on the amalfi coast, and later revised in 193637. Menuhin is occasionally too detached from what is deeply expressive material although walton s accompaniment makes up for this shortcoming. This album marks the third volume of conductor edward gardners walton series with the bbc symphony orchestra. The alternative revised edition, by peter bartok and nelson dellamaggiore, has restored many original bartok features, but has not fundamentally challenged the orchestration. The famous violist william primrose commissioned bartoks viola concerto in 1945. James ehnes, sir william walton, edward gardner viola concerto. Viola soloist james ehnes takes on the incredible challenge of waltons monstrous and nearly impossible technical challenges in this concerto with great virtuosity and masterful grace. Revised 1962 version conductors score and parts on hire.
Waltons original orchestration, heard on this recording, includes triple woodwind and three trumpets. More authoritative recordings from walton and menuhin confirm the excellent musical relationship between these two great artists. Transcription by the composer and sir malcolm arnold 19212006 of string quartet in a minor 194547. Walton called his friend, the critic basil maine, and offered to come over to play some of his newly completed viola concerto for him. According to susana walton, writing in her book, william walton. He arrived soon after, and, in the indescribable idiom of his pianoforte playing, gave some idea of the orchestral score, and.
The composition came about after sir thomas beecham that suggested that walton should compose a concerto for lionel tertis, who championed the viola. I was going to suggest the dvda which i have and is excellent and has both stereo 24192 and 5. The viola concerto is also successful enough although i still retain a marked preference for the classic recording with frederick riddle, still available on dutton laboratories. Despite the challenges of featuring the viola, walton decided to take it. His walton concerto brings out the haunting and bashful moments excuse the pun the viola can so easily be hidden among orchestral textures playing his best in the alternately skittish and passionate finale. Walton, beamish, britten tatjana masurenko keeps growing in artistry every time i hear her. This is a piece i have loved since i was a teenager, so it is wonderful that the opportunity has come my way to record it. At the time walton confessed that he knew little about the viola except. Viola concerto, partita for orchestra, sonata for string orchestra ehnes, gardner.
Of them christopher palmer has written, walton knew little or nothing of strings as a performer. Allegro moderato this masterful viola concerto was written by walton in 1929 when. The new walton edition of this work brings together for the first time the revised 1961 orchestration and the frederick riddle version of the solo part from 1937. Both works are among the handful of great english string concertos, but because there are few recordings of brittens violin concerto and fewer still recordings of waltons viola concerto, a great recording of either work would be a wonderful thing.
Asta grade 6 for more thoughts on this great concerto from a former shar apprentice, please see featuresspecs. Despite the challenges of featuring the viola, walton decided to take it on anyway. Concerto for viola and orchestra 1962 william walton. The violin concerto is a beautiful work full of exquisite melodies but also. The list below includes all pages in the category for viola, orchestra. It was written between february and october 1956, commissioned by and dedicated to the cellist gregor piatigorsky, the soloist at the premiere in boston on 25 january 1957. You will be shocked when you compare themthe melodies are very different, but the orchestration techniques are virtually identical. Try also gosta nystroems viola concerto on bis cd there is an allan pettersson concerto as well. Along with the walton viola concerto, it is among the most popular viola works of all time. The recording, also including waltons partita for orchestra and sonata for string orchestra, will be released in march 2018 on chandos chsa 5210 to read the full article download the issue on desktop computer or via the the strad app, or buy the print edition. Based on the new william walton edition, it is edited by christopher wellington, with piano reduction by geoffrey pratley and viola part revisions by frederick riddle. Following the success of both facade and portsmouth point, walton was gaining confidence in.
This is a list of compositions by william walton sorted by genre, date of composition, title, and scoring. Walton wrote three concertos for string instruments. In june this year the canadian violinist joined conductor edward gardner and the bbc symphony orchestra in the studio to record a concerto on his second instrument, the viola. Walton viola concerto post by kgill thu oct 07, 2010 11. Viola soloist james ehnes takes on the incredible challenge of walton s monstrous and nearly impossible technical challenges in this concerto with great virtuosity and masterful grace. A critical edition of waltons sinfonia concertante for orchestra with piano. Sir william turner walton 29 march 1902 8 march 1983 orchestra. Dec 26, 2016 nao kubota, viola recorded october 2016. Sinfonia concertante for orchestra with piano obbligato r, an album by various artists on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. This edition of waltons celebrated viola concerto 1962 version has been offprinted from the william walton edition full score, and combines the scholarship of the edition with the practical benefits of the smaller format. Walton revised his viola concerto in 1962, changing the orchestration into a lighter one.
William waltons cello concerto 1957 is the third and last of the composers concertos for string instruments, following his viola concerto 1929 and violin concerto 1939. This volume prints both of walton s orchestrations. William walton viola concerto sheet music, music books. This edition of walton s celebrated viola concerto 1962 version has been offprinted from the william walton edition full score, and combines the scholarship of the edition with the practical benefits of the smaller format.
Violin concerto, viola concerto, partita for orchestra. William waltons violin concerto, score for piano and vi post by carolus wed jul 21, 2010 11. Few concerti include a scherzo, but waltons viola concerto seems to have been modeled on prokofievs first violin concerto, which walton admired. The viola concerto it was thomas beecham who suggested to walton that he write a concerto for the great english violist lionel tertis, who had for many years led a campaign championing the viola as the neglected cinderella of the string family. Thats the choice of viola player nils monkemeyer and conductor markus poschner, whose wonderfully clear account. To my knowledge, it has never been acknowledged by stravinsky.
Reduction for viola and piano paperback september 19, 2002. A completely unknown quantity but likely to be good is the viola concerto by william henry bell brit expatriate who lived in s africa. Roder in leipzig shortly after lloydjones score first appeared in 1974. There are many more concerti for violin and cello than for viola because those instruments have their own full voice well capable of carrying above a full orchestra. Tatjana masurenko keeps growing in artistry every time i hear her.
But tertis rejected the manuscript, and composer and violist paul hindemith gave the first performance. The viola concerto was a towering achievement for walton, which should be much better known. Keyboard variations demeyere recent comments frank sinatra with count basie and the orchestra. In this third volume of edward gardners walton series with the bbc symphony orchestra, james ehnes leaves his violin to tackle the taxing soloist role in the viola concerto. Full text of concerto for viola and orchestra by william. James ehnes on recording the walton viola concerto. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. Waltons violin and viola concertos by ian lace may 2003.
Walton, william concerto for viola 1929 revised 1962. He then heard primrose perform the william walton viola concerto and began to reconsider. William turner walton born in lancashire, oldham, england in 1902. The composer agreed and started work on it almost immediately. William walton s cello concerto 1957 is the third and last of the composers concertos for string instruments, following his viola concerto 1929 and violin concerto 1939. Apr 06, 2018 listen to your favorite songs from walton. William walton, william walton, yehudi menuhin, new york philharmonic orchestra, london symphony orchestra walton. Behind the facade, walton was somewhat perplexed and wondered why sir thomas thought he should be able to write such a work. Baxs phantasy for viola and orchestra is a concerto.
Viola concerto walton from cda67587 hyperion records. James ehnes on recording the walton viola concerto focus. He arrived soon after, and, in the indescribable idiom of his pianoforte playing, gave some idea of the orchestral score, and occasionally a sketchy vocalise of the viola part. Walton composed his viola concerto at the suggestion of conductor sir thomas beecham for violist lionel tertis. By february 1929 walton had completed two movements and was working. Full text of concerto for viola and orchestra by william walton. It also for the first time restores the solo part as edited by frederick riddle, an early soloist and champion of the work, who devised numerous idiomatic phrasings and bowings with the approval of the composer. The concerto carries the dedication to christabel christabel mclaren, lady aberconway. Tatjana masurenko, ndr radio philharmonic, garry walker composer. Tertis had served as principal violist in beechams orchestra.
The concerto was suggested by beecham and was intended for lionel tertis 18761975, the great english viola player whose oneman campaign to build a solo repertory for the viola commanded widespread admiration. Like the viola concerto 1929, with which, along with facade 192122, the composer had made his name, the work follows a pattern of lyrical openingscherzosonataform finale. An introduction is provided by the volume editor, christopher wellington. This is believed to represent the composers intention, though he also allowed for the possibility of performances of the original version. William waltons violin concerto, score for piano and vi post by carolus. Sir william turner walton 19021983 was a british composer and conductor. In 1928, the conductor sir thomas beecham suggested to walton that he write a concerto for the eminent violist lionel tertis. Walton viola concerto timothy ridout zurich tonhalle orchestra david zinman orpheum foundation duration. At first the composer was unsure of his ability to write a work for the viola. But while maxim vengerov is a very fine player with some outstanding. Yehudi menuhin philharmonia orchestra sir william walton. The reason is that the work is one of the three most important. The william walton trust waltons viola and violin concertos.