William Walton's Violin Concerto in B minor was composed for Jascha Heifetz in the early 1940s; Heifetz took up the work enthusiastically, and it has remained popular since then. The clean, sparkling recording here by Anthony Marwood may well bring Heifetz to mind, but there are several other fine recordings on the market. The real value here for Walton lovers lies in the other works on the album, all from the latter part of Walton's career, none of them terribly common, and all done proud justice by the BBC Scottish ...
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William Walton's Violin Concerto in B minor was composed for Jascha Heifetz in the early 1940s; Heifetz took up the work enthusiastically, and it has remained popular since then. The clean, sparkling recording here by Anthony Marwood may well bring Heifetz to mind, but there are several other fine recordings on the market. The real value here for Walton lovers lies in the other works on the album, all from the latter part of Walton's career, none of them terribly common, and all done proud justice by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins. The Partita for orchestra of 1957 is a three-movement work, ostensibly in Baroque forms, but inhabited throughout by brash, modern high spirits: sample its "Giga burlesca" finale for a good example of Walton's sense of fun. The Variations on a theme by Hindemith were a tribute to that aging composer, written in 1963 in time for Hindemith to hear the work before his death. The Spitfire Prelude and Fugue is a unique hybrid of patriotic film music and...
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