COMPOSERS: Walton
LABELS: EMI Eminence
WORKS: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 2
PERFORMER: LPO/LSO/Charles Mackerras
CATALOGUE NO: CDEMX 2206 DDD (1989)
Mackerras’s 1989 recording of Walton’s turbulent First Symphony is among the finest ever made. The suitably furious opening movement is perfect preparation for what follows and Mackerras makes the Andante con malinconia into something tender rather than extravagantly sorrowful. In the less celebrated Second Symphony he is equally successful, bringing out a wealth of colour in this luminous, rather understated product of the composer’s happier later years. Stephen Maddock
Walton: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 2
Mackerras’s 1989 recording of Walton’s turbulent First Symphony is among the finest ever made. The suitably furious opening movement is perfect preparation for what follows and Mackerras makes the Andante con malinconia into something tender rather than extravagantly sorrowful. In the less celebrated Second Symphony he is equally successful, bringing out a wealth of colour in this luminous, rather understated product of the composer’s happier later years. Stephen Maddock
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:28 pm