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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Performance of the Walton Viola Concerto, June 10, 2000
Has anyone ever noticed that it is impossible to find a good recording of the Walton Viola Concerto? The William Primrose recordings just sound harsh and ugly to me; Nigel Kennedy's is OK, but he sounds like a violinist (which he is); and other recordings by Nobuko Imai and Karen Dreyfus just don't stand out for me. Most violists agree the Walton Concerto is an extremely difficult piece-- technically awkward, hard to play in tune, hard to make sound nice. For some strange reason none of the viola superstars-- Kim Kashkashian, Yuri Bashmet, and Pinchas Zukerman-- have recorded this piece. (Are they ducking it, perhaps?) Anyway, all this is prelude to my pleasant surprise with this recording. I had never heard of this violist, but he gives a darn-good performance-- solid technique and a round, warm, satisfying viola sound. I would almost venture to say it's my favorite recording of this piece available. Naxos is a really great label-- although it's a "bargain brand," you wouldn't know it from the recordings it puts out. I have several Naxos recordings, and the quality is consistently good.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Walton's Second Vindicated, October 24, 2000
When William Walton's (1902-1983) Second Symphony appeared in 1960, critics expressed disappointment. They expected a follow-up, it seems, on the same scale and of the same seriousness as Walton's first essay in the genre, the B-Flat Minor of 1934. The Second contrasted with the First by its slighter structure and less driven character, and so disappointed the judges; but it added up to much, much more than the critical assessment at the time would admit. Nevertheless, it has remained little recorded, with Previn (EMI) offering the most widely circulated interpretation. Paul Daniel's recording for Naxos makes the best case yet for this underappreciated masterpiece. Daniel understands that this is a scherzo-symphony, an English counterpart of the Shostakovich Ninth, and with some relation to the balletic works that Stravinsky called symphonies. Yet underneath the jests and even the japes of the First Movement (Allegro Molto) Daniel finds some of the same steely musculature that gave such sturdy shape to the B-Flat Minor. He then relaxes in the Second Movement (Lento), tearing suddenly into the growling commencement of the Third Movement Finale. Like William Alwynn's Fourth Symphony, also premiered in 1960, the Walton Second offers as its concluding movement a passacaglia (a baroque form beloved of British composers - think of Britten and Vaughan Williams). Walton's Passacaglia employs a theme using all twelve notes of the chromatic scale, but the music, though imposing at times, is hardly atonal. The Viola Concerto (1929) saw Walton move from his jazzy bad-boy phase, the culmination of which was his Sinfonia Concertante for Piano and Orchestra, into his mellower post-Elgar phase. It is long-lined and very British. Soloist Lars Anders Tomter has the suave tone that the work needs. Can't be beat for its program or for its price.
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6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Walton Concerto, November 19, 2001
I personally think this isn't the best recording of the Walton concerto. I would recommend Nigel Kennedy's recording-his intonation is flawless, his phrasing very musical, and he produces the best sound for the Walton concerto. These things were a bit lacking in this particular recording. As far as the Symphony and overture, I must admit I bought the cd mainly to hear the concerto.
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~ William [composer] Walton
~ William [composer] Walton
~ William Walton
~ William [composer] Walton
by Sir William Walton 
