Rubbra & Walton: Viola Concertos

Featuring

Lawrence Power
Ilan Volkov
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Sir William Walton
Edmund Rubbra

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Composer Biography

William Walton, from a musical family, achieved immediate success and found patrons in high places, notably the sophisticated Sitwell family.

Composition History

William Walton's Viola Concerto was initially rejected by the great British violist Lionel Tertis because it looked "too modern," but Tertis became devoted to it after hearing it.

Recording & Production

This album features the first modern recording of William Walton's Viola Concerto in its original 1928-29 version, and the first recording of Edmund Rubbra's Meditations on a Byzantine Hymn for solo viola.

Compositional Technique

William Walton's Viola Concerto, heard in its original orchestration on this recording, includes triple woodwind and three trumpets, which was later reduced in a 1961 revision.

Composition History

Edmund Rubbra's Viola Concerto was commissioned by the leading viola virtuoso William Primrose, who also commissioned works from Darius Milhaud and Peter Racine Fricker.

Notable Performances

The premiere of William Walton's Viola Concerto in 1929 featured the leading German musician Paul Hindemith as soloist, with Walton himself conducting.

Composer Biography

Edmund Rubbra came from a poor family and developed musically later in life, but his determination and intellect secured him an excellent education, including studying composition with Holst.