Walton Symphony No 2; Troilus and Cressida Suite
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: William Walton
Label: Chandos
Magazine Review Date: 7/1990
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 64
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CHAN8772
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 2 |
William Walton, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra William Walton, Composer |
Troilus and Cressida |
William Walton, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra William Walton, Composer |
Composer or Director: William Walton
Label: Chandos
Magazine Review Date: 7/1990
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: ABTD1410
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 2 |
William Walton, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra William Walton, Composer |
Troilus and Cressida |
William Walton, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra William Walton, Composer |
Author: Edward Greenfield
The second movement Scherzo, for example, works particularly well, when the playful music for Pandarus—one of the greatest roles ever created for Sir Peter Pears, matching those that Britten gave him—leads logically to the loveliest aria in the opera, ''At the haunted end of the day'', which is used as a central trio. I was surprised that the great melody enters first on a solo cello (not the right register at all), but it is good to have it rescued. The main emotional weight of the suite comes in the long, mainly slow third movement, ''The Lovers'', with the love music culminating, as in the opera, in the erotic—maybe even pornographic—storm interlude, before leading to the poignant, movingly atmospheric music of the lovers' parting. So far from being weightily symphonic, the first movement largely limits itself to setting the scene, but with prominent use of Troilus's ''Aphrodite music''. The finale, drawn from Act 3, has Cressida's two big solos framing the ceremonial music for the entry of Diomede. I am sad that no place was found for the magnificent sextet which provides such a moving emotional climax before the final death scene with its solo for Cressida, but it might have overweighted the last movement. Palmer's use of the solo bassoon for one of Troilus's big entries in the love scene strikes me as odd too, but I warmly welcome the chance to hear 35 rich minutes of the score, particularly when they are given such a ripely romantic performance, and recorded in such opulent sound.
The sound is weighty too for the symphony. This is a broader, less tense and dramatic reading than either Mackerras's or Previn's. If my first concern was for the symphony, I would opt for one of those alternatives, but Waltonians who like the idea of the concert suite from Troilus, will find that Thomson's reading of the symphony carries complete conviction too, bringing a ruggedness in the powerful final passacaglia. It is worth mentioning—even though it is a long way off yet—that Chandos's Walton Edition will ultimately include a complete recording of Troilus conducted by Richard Hickox, using the original full text with soprano heroine, not the revision for mezzo, in which Walton also made many cuts.'
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