Walton Cello

The Wise Virgins – complete ballet (1940) by William WALTON (1902-1983) after J.S. BACH (1685-1750) arranged by Philip LANE (b.1950) ; Horoscope – complete ballet (1938) by Constant LAMBERT (1905-1951). Both these ballets from a vintage period of the Sadler's Wells ballet company at the beginning of the second world war, have till now appeared on disc only in truncated form as orchestral suites. William Walton's ballet, the Wise Virgins, using movements from Bach cantatas, was quickly dropped in the theatre, with the score of three of the movements lost or destroyed. Philip Lane has now reorchestrated those, using the original Bach scores, in a style near enough to Walton's. Similarly, Constant Lambert's Horoscope, a colourful piece on an astrological theme, here appears for the first time with four extra items.

William Walton - Symphonies & Concertos (2005) [2CD] {Decca}
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© 2005 Decca Music | 475 6534
Classical / Symphonie / Concerto

Kyung Wha Chung’s now legendary recording of the Violin Concerto was made in 1972 in the presence of the composer and immediately drew the most enthusiastic reviews: “… she gets to the heart of this music, demonstrates its toughness as well as its soul-searching lyrical warmth … Chung’s incisiveness compasses the fearsome virtuoso writing of the Scherzo not just with assurance but with wit and obvious enjoyment in display … here in sum is a great, deeply involving performance.”

The Doric gives outstanding, virtuoso performances of William Walton’s two string quartets. The first of them, formidable in its technical demands and harmonic language, is virtually unrecognisable from the Walton of maturity, embracing as it does the avant-garde ideas he flirted with in his youth. Walton said it was “full of undigested Bartók and Schoenberg”, but, when played with such panache, it provides a pungent contrast to the clarity and spry rhythmic sparring of the later A minor Quartet.

Sony Music is proud to announce the worldwide release of Yo-Yo Ma: 30 Years Outside the Box, a deluxe box set of Yo-Yo Ma's recorded legacy. This elaborate, numbered, limited-edition box will celebrate Yo-Yo Ma's 30th Anniversary with the label. Created with the full participation of Yo-Yo Ma, 30 Years Outside the Box, is the definitive collection of this iconic artist in a presentation as beautiful and timeless as the music itself.

Yo-Yo Ma Plays Cello Masterworks is an eight-CD box set of previously released material recorded in the 1980s and 1990s, and presumably so familiar to his fans that the package doesn't even come with a booklet. It really is a no-frills affair, right down to the thin cardboard sleeves that repeat the same photograph on the box, instead of offering original cover art. But the greatest disappointment is that only three of J.S. Bach's Six Cello Suites were included, so listeners seeking them should forego this budget package and find the complete suites, which Ma recorded twice.

Few people think of Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Walton as composers of chamber music; nevertheless, the small number of works of this classification which they published is highly characteristic, personal and significant.

The viola is no longer the Cinderella of string instruments, thanks to such composers as Hindemith, Schnittke, Britten and Berio, but it was Walton who, in 1927, composed the first significant work for the viola since Berlioz’s Harold in Italy of 1834. Max Bruch also wrote for it; like Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for violin/viola duo, he composed a concerto for viola and clarinet in 1911, with an alternative version substituting violin for clarinet. A short Romance had appeared in 1885, while Kol nidrei for cello also had a version for viola. All these works appear on this excellent disc and highlight the instrument’s strengths and weaknesses in the capable hands of Bashmet, currently one of its greatest exponents.