Helen Callus performs Walton, Vaughan Williams, Howells & Bowen

Ralph Vaughan Williams (Composer), Herbert Howells (Composer), William [composer] Walton (Composer), York Bowen (Composer), Marc Taddei (Conductor), New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Marc Taddei
• Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Herbert Howells, William [composer] Walton, York Bowen
• Audio CD (June 27, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asv Living Era
• ASIN: B000FA55SW
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,453 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great recording! Absolutely essential., July 26, 2006

By 

A music fan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Helen Callus performs Walton, Vaughan Williams, Howells & Bowen (Audio CD)

I first became acquainted with Helen Callus's gorgeous viola playing from her previous ASV release of the Clarke viola works. In that wonderful recording, she featured all British women and now she takes on the British men. By far the most recorded work on the album is the Walton Viola Concerto. Always a winner in my book, there are several other competing versions and Callus easily holds her own against them mainly because she has a quality that is rare today in classical recordings, her own unique sound and personality. Her luscious turn of phrase, dark rich sound and indulgent (in the best sense) musicality serve the score to produce a moving performance.

After the Walton, everything else on the disc is new to me and seems to be very rarely recorded. And that seems a great shame, because the rest of the music is fantastic and so wonderfully easy to listen to, I can't imagine why these works haven't found a place in the catalog. I would say that after this recording, they will certainly grow in popularity.

The Vaughan Williams Suite which opens the disc is delightful. Rich in the opening, intimate in the middle and fun at the end. For me, the big winner, however, is the Howells. The Howells is simply drop-dead stunning. Callus is so passionate as are all the strings of the New Zealand Symphony. This work alone will surely win accolades.
Finally the York Bowen Concerto rounds out the disc. More in the mold of a bravura 19th-century violin concerto, this is a work of scale that violists never seem to get. Callus brings a highly dramatic flair to this work. I especially enjoyed her virtuosic cadenza (the notes say she wrote it!) at the end of the 3rd movement.

Alone, any one of these works is worth purchasing, together they make an outstanding combination, a full 78 minutes worth of music that is an absolute must have.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars violaman, April 28, 2007

By 

Robert S. Sablove "Dr. Bob" (san diego, ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Helen Callus performs Walton, Vaughan Williams, Howells & Bowen (Audio CD)

Ms. Callus' performances are superb. I have two other recordings of the Walton concerto, and hers is the best. Vaughan Williams piece is beautiful. Howells is especially poignant and sounds more Vaughan Williams than V-W himself. Bowen is stellar and it is truly a virtuoso performance. I purchased this recording after buying Ms. Callus' Portrait of the Viola. Both are in a class of their own. I can't wait for her to come out with another recording. Helen Callus, you are a viola goddess!

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar Walton, October 4, 2009

By 

M. Hatlestad "Eccentric Violist" (The frigid wasteland of of Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: British Viola Concertos (MP3 Download)

This is my favorite recording of the Walton that I have heard. Callus' marvelous tone and musicality really shine through. She takes the tempos just right. The orchestra sound great to. I can only offer praise for this recording.