This is the last and least critically regarded of Walton`s concertos. Certainly its style is nostalgic, and the parallels with Elgar`s earlier masterpiece are closer than some would say they should be. Portrait of the one-time enfant terrible as an old man, perhaps. But for me it contains some of this composer`s finest melodic writing, balanced by sumptuous scoring for the orchestral strings. While the performance here is more workmanlike than spine-tingling, the playing is accurate and recording quality excellent. A slight quibble: the upload cuts out too soon at the end, before the reverb of the final chord has completely died away.
Certainly its style is nostalgic, and the parallels with Elgar`s
earlier masterpiece are closer than some would say they should be.
Portrait of the one-time enfant terrible as an old man, perhaps. But
for me it contains some of this composer`s finest melodic writing,
balanced by sumptuous scoring for the orchestral strings. While the
performance here is more workmanlike than spine-tingling, the playing
is accurate and recording quality excellent. A slight quibble: the
upload cuts out too soon at the end, before the reverb of the final
chord has completely died away.