CD REVIEW -
WALTON
VIOLIN CONCERTO, ETC.
Charlie Lovell-Jones
SINFONIA OF LONDON John Wilson
CHANDOS CHSA 5360
[TT 63:20]
I imagine that a
number of the various works by
the Oldham, Lancashire born
composer Sir William Turner
Walton OM (1902-83) will be
familiar to readers. You do not
have to be a filmgoer to know of Spitfire
Prelude and Fugue from his
score for 'The First of the Few'
film in 1942 and his Agincourt
battle sequence in Laurence
Olivier's 1944 adaptation of
Shakespeare's 'Henry V', the film
score of which, along with that
for Olivier's 'Hamlet' four years
later, was nominated for an
Academy Award.
In 1969 he also
wrote the score for the film
'Battle of Britain', although
only nine pieces were retained
and the rest was cut in favour of
compositions by Ron Goodwin.
Other popular
pieces are the marches he wrote
for the coronations of King
George VI: Crown Imperial
and Queen Elizabeth II: Orb
and Sceptre; while lovers of
choral music thrill to his
exciting cantata, 'Belshazzar’s
Feast'. The two witty 'Façade
Suites' and 'The Wise
Virgins Ballet Suite' of
Walton transcribed J S Bach
– including Sheep May
Safely Graze – are also
approachable works.
In 1936 (a very
good year!) the famous violinist
Jascha Heifetz asked Walton to
write for him a violin concerto,
which is what we have here played
by the star soloist, 26-year-old
Charlie Lovell-Jones, joint
leader with John Mills of
Wilson's supporting splendiferous
Sinfonia of London. Violin
enthusiasts and critics alike
described it as one of the finest
romantic concertos ever composed
for the instrument.
I do not have
another version of the work in my
collection to compare with but a
new release from this conductor
and orchestra has become a
red-letter day in the recording
calendar.
The concerto
(29:01) is preceded by the late
Christopher Palmer's 1988
arrangement of a 28½ minute Concert
Suite from 'Troilus and
Cressida' (1954). As this
contains all the tunes it is a
perfect introduction to the
opera, the earliest and
best-known of two that Walton
wrote.
The final track is
the rumbustious 'Portsmouth
Point', a short overture and
the composer's first successful
orchestral work, written in
1924/5.
The high standard
of the label's liner notes is
maintained by Mervyn Cooke, the
author of several books including
A History of Film Music.
If you are
attracted to this release –
hopefully enough to buy it –
watch this space as it is the
first volume of Walton's
orchestral music in a new SoL/JW
series for Chandos.
Recent and younger
readers may wonder at our
interest in John Wilson. It stems
from knowing him as a fellow
member of the Robert Farnon
Society back in the day, and for
his espousal of light music. Now
he is known in classical circles
at the highest level across the
globe.
©
Peter Burt, February 2025
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