Tasmin Little, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Walton: Symphony No. 1 & Violin Concerto (2014) [24/96]

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.

Fast establishing himself as a major interpreter of British repertoire, Edward Gardner's intense performance of Walton's Symphony No. 1 is matched by the commitment and insight of Tasmin Little in the Violin Concerto. –Gramophone Editor's Choice, July 2014

The ideal coupling of two of Walton's most electrifying works, the Symphony No 1 and the Violin Concerto, here comes in superb performances conducted by Edward Gardner with the BBC SO. Gardner's account of the symphony comes near to matching Previn with the LSO, while Tasmin Little gives a heartfelt account of the Violin Concerto. –Gramophone

TRACKLIST

William Walton (1902-1983)

Symphony No. 1
To the Baroness Imma Doernberg
01. I. Allegro assai (13:47)
02. II. Presto con malizia (5:52)
03. III. Andante con malinconia (11:02)
04. IV. Maestoso: Allegro brioso ed ardentemente (12:40)

Violin Concerto (Revised version, 1943)
For Jascha Heifetz
05. I. Andante tranquillo (12:18)
06. II. Presto capriccioso alla napolitana (7:04)
07. III. Vivace (13:45)Tasmin Little - violin (#5-7)

PERSONNEL
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Stephen Bryant - leader
Edward Gardner - conductor

Recorded: Watford Colosseum: 18 September 2013 (Violin Concerto)
Fairfield Halls, Croydon: 3 and 4 February 2014 (Symphony No. 1)