Even with the overall sparsity of music for solo cello, the pairing here seems to be unique. Cellist Zuill Bailey and the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra under Grant Llewellyn combine William Walton's Cello Concerto with Richard Strauss' Don Quixote, Op. 35, a nifty combination of tone poem and concerto for cello and viola. The Walton work is much more often joined to the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, a very different work, but here, the Cello Concerto from Walton's later years, with a pair of thoughtful slow ...
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Even with the overall sparsity of music for solo cello, the pairing here seems to be unique. Cellist Zuill Bailey and the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra under Grant Llewellyn combine William Walton's Cello Concerto with Richard Strauss' Don Quixote, Op. 35, a nifty combination of tone poem and concerto for cello and viola. The Walton work is much more often joined to the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, a very different work, but here, the Cello Concerto from Walton's later years, with a pair of thoughtful slow movements flanking an Allegro appassionato, finds an ideal match in Strauss' often gently comic Don Quixote, with its army of sheep and other delights. The cello represents the Don himself, with the viola (Roberto Díaz) and other instruments stepping into the role of sidekick Sancho Panza. The Walton concerto is an ideal vehicle for cellist Bailey, who grew up listening to Mstislav Rostropovich, a champion of this work; his big-hearted style may bring that Russian master to mind. The...
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![Walton: Cello Concerto [Zuill Bailey; Roberto Diaz; North Carolina Symphony; Grant Llewellyn] [Steinway & Sons: Stns 30156]](https://www4.alibris-static.com/cover/o64176c7jbg_t.jpg)
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