Walton – Symphony No.2; Cello Concerto
Paul Watkins; BBC Symphony Orchestra; Edward Gardner
Chandos CHSA 5153
“When you play Walton make big gestures,” Gregor Piatigorsky told the soloist I accompanied in the Walton Viola Concerto. The great cellist, tall and impressive in a white summer suit, was giving a string masterclass at Santa Barbara’s Music Academy of the West. Only later did I learn that Piatigorsky himself had commissioned Walton’s Cello Concerto and premiered it with the BBC Symphony! This CD’s expressive performance by cellist Paul Watkins and the Edward Gardner-led BBC players captures the work’s engaging spirit. Many cellists can sound expressive generically, but Watkins’ cello is expressive of particular melodic and harmonic beauties from the lyrical first movement on. In the tricky scherzo notable are the soloist’s impeccable bowing, intonation and ensemble playing. Both Watkins and Gardner pull through many mood changes in the last movement’s theme and improvisations convincingly.
The passion and commitment of conductor and orchestra also show in Walton’s Symphony No.2 (1960). In the opening movement strings display virtuosity while maintaining the most prominent motif’s yearning quality. The slow movement has touchingly played woodwind and horn solos, with mysterious trills and tremolos in the background held in balance by Gardner. The closing Passacaglia’s recurring 12-tone line is not confining; dramatic moments abound and the whole ensemble shines in an exciting Fugato-Coda. In Improvisations on an Impromptu by Benjamin Britten (1969), less inspired and more schematic than the other works, the BBC-ers realize Walton’s craftsmanship and imaginative orchestration well. Highly recommended.
