Customer Reviews

Helen Callus performs Walton, Vaughan Williams, Howells & Bowen

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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.

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!

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.