William Walton - Spitfire Prelude and Fugue; Sinfonia concertante (Paul Daniel)

Information

Composer: William Walton

• (01)      Spitfire Prelude and Fugue
• (02-04) Sinfonia concertante (1927 version)
• (05-16) Variations on a Theme by Hindemith
• (17)      March for 'A History of the English Speaking Peoples'

Peter Donohoe, piano (2-4)
English Northern Philharmonia Orchestra
Paul Daniel, conductor

Date: 1999
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.553869

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 8

The major work here is the superb Variations on a Theme by Hindemith, the masterpiece of William Walton’s later years. The definitive recorded statement of this piece continues to be Szell’s performance with the technically breathtaking Cleveland Orchestra, also offered at budget price, but this is the first modern version to stand comparison with that classic account. Of course, the English Northern Philharmonia is no Cleveland Orchestra, but conductor Paul Daniel offers instead an extremely sympathetic response to Walton’s music, shaping a vigorous and cogent performance. The same qualities are equally evident in the busy Sinfonia Concertante (performed here in its 1927 original version) and in the cinematic “Spitfire” Prelude and Fugue (an adaptation of one of the composer’s film scores). Of the three discs released so far in Naxos’ Walton series, this by far is the finest, both in sound and performance.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: ****
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/dec99/walton.htm
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.553869&languageid=EN
https://www.amazon.com/Walton-Spitfire-Concertante-Hindemith-Variations/dp/B000QQT3OM

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William Walton (29 March 1902 – 8 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include Façade, the cantata Belshazzar's Feast, the Viola and Violin Concertos, and the First Symphony, which has had more than twenty recordings. Walton was a slow worker, painstakingly perfectionist, and his complete body of work across his long career is not large. His most popular compositions continue to be frequently performed in the twenty-first century, and almost all his works had been released on CD.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walton

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Paul Daniel (born 5 July 1958 in Birmingham) is an English conductor. He learnt conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where his teachers included Adrian Boult and Edward Downes. From 1990 to 1997, he was Musical Director of Opera North and Principal Conductor of the English Northern Philharmonia, where he attracted attention for his work in neglected operas and newer repertory. His honours include receiving an Olivier Award in February 1998 for outstanding achievement in opera, and a Gramophone Award in 1999 for his English music series on Naxos Records.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Daniel

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