William Walton - Symphonies (Martyn Brabbins)

Information

Composer: William Walton

1. Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor: I. Allegro assai
2. Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor: II. Presto con malizia
3. Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor: III. Andante con malinconia
4. Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor: IV. Maestoso - Allegro, brioso e ardentemente - Vivacissimo - Maestoso
5. Siesta
6. Symphony No. 2: I. Allegro molto
7. Symphony No. 2: II. Lento assai
8. Symphony No. 2: III. Passacaglia: Theme and Variations - Fugato - Coda (Scherzando)

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins, conductor

Date: 2011
Label: Hyperion
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67794

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Review

A pairing of Walton’s symphonies – the First even rivalling Previn’s classic disc

Walton’s two symphonies make an ideal coupling, yet it is surprising how rarely they have been offered together. The BIS version listed above is highly recommendable, remarkably idiomatic for a non-British orchestra, but the new issue regularly outshines it in bite and romantic passion. This version of the iconic First Symphony even rivals the version that André Previn and the LSO recorded for RCA in 1966 (1/67R), a classic account that has comfortably stood the test of time.

What is so good about the new Hyperion performances is the control of tension. The first movement in particular depends on the build-up of repeated figures in extended crescendos, often one on top of the other. Yet Brabbins is masterly in such passages, and equally so in the haunted slow movement, the emotional core of the piece, from its chill opening flute solo onwards. There is ample bite in the second-movement scherzo, marked con malizia, and the ripe resolution in the extended finale with its unmistakably optimistic tone is satisfyingly warm, with each of the fugatos played with remarkable clarity, helped by the excellent Hyperion sound. The brief trumpet solo in the coda with its echoes of the “Last Post” has rarely sounded so tender. Usually, the Second Symphony of 1956‑60 is set in contrast with First, which reflected the darkness of mood of the 1930s, yet Brabbins remarkably seems intent on bringing out the similarities, for this is the most powerful account of this three-movement work that I can remember, most strikingly in the opening Allegro molto. The central Lento assai is then warmer than usual in its lyricism, while Walton’s tongue-in-cheek references to 12‑note rows in the finale are carried off with just the right touch of humour in the “raspberries” of the brass-writing. The big contrasts in dynamic and mood in the variations which follow are then highlighted, again helped by the recording.

The whole disc is a credit not only to the conductor but also to the quality of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, which can stand comparison with any rival, not least in the quality of the woodwind solos.

-- Edward Greenfield, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 8 / SOUND QUALITY: 8
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/June11/Walton_1&2_CDA67794.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/23/walton-symphonies-review
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=9462
https://www.allmusic.com/album/walton-symphonies-nos-1-2-mw0002167728
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Walton-BBC-Scottish-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B005145XGG

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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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Martyn Brabbins (born 13 August 1959) is a British conductor. He studied composition at Goldsmiths, University of London, and conducting with Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory. Between 1994 and 2005, Brabbins was Associate Principal Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He made a significant mark through recordings not in standard repertory and as one of the main conductors involved in Hyperion's extensive Romantic Piano Concerto series. Brabbins has conducted commercial recordings of music for such labels as Warner, Chandos, Hyperion, NMC, Nimbus, and Deutsche Grammophon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyn_Brabbins

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