No.1203
Modern: Tonal
William Walton's Second Symphony was premiered in 1960 by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The work's initial reception
was lukewarm. Having long established a compositional style that avoided the technical trends of high modernism, his tonally-grounded
music was dismissed by more academically-minded audiences; at the same time, more casual listeners failed to penetrate the friendly
surface of his music to find its subtle nuances and innovations, and several critics complained that the Second Symphony offered nothing
new. The renewed interest in tonality (and/or reaction against atonality) at the end of the twentieth century, however, resulted in a
reassessment of Walton's musical language and a reengagement with nearly forgotten works like the Symphony No. 2. This trend has
facilitated the sort of reaction promised by one of a handful of this work's early fans. "The Second Symphony," wrote a critic speaking for
the minority, "is curiously reluctant to yield its secrets and inner meanings through a few hearings. Not that it is difficult music, but it
does need concentrated and frequent listening before the veil parts and one is admitted to the inner circle of its highly distinctive
sound-world." The work is scored for substantial orchestral forces, will full strings and brass, triple winds, two harps, piano, and a
large percussion battery. Its three movements, lasting a combined half-hour, assume fairly standard structures.
After hearing a recording and examining the score of William Walton's Variations on a Theme by Paul Hindemith in the summer
of 1963, the work's namesake wrote a letter of gratitude to its composer. "We had a half hour of sheer enjoyment," wrote Hindemith.
"I am particularly fond of the honest solidity of workmanship in this score -- something that seems almost completely lost nowadays."
Hindemith's untimely death in 1963 prevented him from fulfilling the letter's promise to program the piece in the following season;
thus the Variations stand as a particularly poignant memorial to the friendship and influence shared by the two composers. The theme,
for the most part, assumes a lyrical contour set within a flowing 9/8 time. This smooth surface is momentarily upset, however, by a
terse interjection of staccato sequences. This gesture, though quickly subsumed within the statement of the theme by less tense
material, reappears in one form or another in each of the subsequent variations. These take on a variety of characters. The first,
a vivace scherzo, is a metrically convoluted reworking of several melodic and accompanimental fragments from the theme, while
the second takes a more stable but equally lively tack. The Larghetto of variation 3 is foiled by No. 4's rhythmic drive; similarly,
variations 5 and 6 contrast an Andante con moto with a 5/4 scherzo, respectively. Variation 7 invokes Hindemith's Mathis der
Maler (the score even places the passage within quotation marks!) within a Lento molto context, followed by the Vivacissimo
variation 8, the brief but Maestoso variation 9, and a lively fugato finale.
Before the premiere performance of Walton's Partita for Orchestra by the Cleveland Orchestra in January 1958,
conductor George Szell wrote the composer requesting that he supply some explanatory program notes for the piece.
Walton politely declined to write about the piece. "It is surely easier to write about a piece of creative work if there is something
problematical about it," wrote Walton. "Indeed -- it seems to me -- the more problematical, the greater the flow of words.
Unfortunately from this point of view, my Partita poses no problems, has no ulterior motive or meaning behind it, and makes
no attempt to ponder the imponderables." Just as Walton describes, there is nothing in this work that draws particular attention
to itself: it calls for standard orchestral forces, runs about 17 minutes, and the contrasts and moods employed articulate
familiar expressive designs. Walton's typical nonchalance should not be taken as indifference, however; in this work, as in
others, his goal is communicative expression rather that compositional innovation, and though the Partita breaks little new
ground, it traverses familiar terrain gracefully and enjoyably.
Music Composed by William Walton
Played by The Cleveland Orchestra
Conducted by George Szell
"Szell's Clevelanders cornered the Walton market during the 1950s into the 1960s and here are three substantial works
in their premiere recordings anywhere.
The Second Symphony is divided from its predecessor by a world war and more than twenty years. The lento middle
movement is an elysian reflection in a style surprisingly Baxian (at 0900) as is 4.30 of the finale. It separates two eight
minute movements; the first being as wildly active as the Festival Overture though without the carefree element. It is
furiously violent instead. The finale is impressive too at 6.30 with its raven-cawing trombones. For some reason the
otherwise very competent booklet notes have nothing to say about the Symphony. The Symphony was recorded in
the 1970s by Previn, the LSO and EMI and that is a more refined and lustrous recording than this. As a work it lacks
the Odysseyan qualities of the First Symphony.
The zestful Hindemith Variations are on a theme from the second movement of Hindemith's cello concerto with material
from the opera Mathis der Maler referred to passim. Sadly Hindemith's death in the early 1960s prevented a plan for
the German composer to conduct the work. If this had happened it would have brought a theme full circle - in 1929,
after Tertis had spurned the Viola Concerto, Hindemith had given the premiere. Walton conducted the London premiere
with the LPO who had commissioned the work. Szell was the first to conduct the piece in the USA. Despite its mere
22 minutes it exudes a serious symphonic character. Recording quality extremely satisfactory though at 16.20 in
the variations I noticed some pre-echo.
Szell directed the first performance of the Partita with the Clevelanders for whose fortieth anniversary the work had
been commissioned. The composer set out to write a heavy duty divertimento avoiding the great issues. He did not
quite succeed in that for their are dense and dark shadows in this music and great issues are hinted at in the linkages
with the music he had written for Troilus and Cressida (first movement only). The Pastorale which sets oboe and viola
principals against each other in a classical rondo of Grecian warmth and restraint where the wind writing sometimes
suggests Nielsen. Although written for larger forces its three five minute movements can be bracketed with the
sinfoniettas and suites by his friend and collaborator, Malcolm Arnold. I came away from hearing this work again
with a very high regard for the Partita which has more of the authentic Waltonian spark and humour (the latter
especially in the last movement) than the other two Cleveland works."
Musicweb
Source: Sony Classics CD (My rip)
Formats: mp3(320), ADD Stereo
File Size: 223 MB (incl. covers & booklet)
Download Link -
https://mega.nz/#!wqBiySLa!inhqF3JHqt4H_aWJLyWCNPwIh1ukQgv7QWEfZ8it-qc
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