Violin Concerto (Walton)

The Violin Concerto of William Walton was written in 1938–39 and reorchestrated in 1943. It has three movements:

Related Topics:
Violin Concerto - William Walton - 1938 - 39 - 1943

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• Andante tranquillo
• Presto capriccioso alla napolitana
• Vivace

The concerto was written for Jascha Heifetz, who commissioned it in 1936. The premiere of the original version took place on December 7, 1939, in Cleveland, with Heifetz on violin and the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Artur Rodzinski. Heifetz made the first recording of the piece, with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eugène Aynsley Goossens, in 1942. The revised version premiered on January 17, 1944, in Wolverhampton, England, with Henry Holst on violin and the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent. The revised version has been recorded by such violinists as Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Nigel Kennedy, and Dong-Suk Kang.

Related Topics:
Jascha Heifetz - Cleveland Orchestra - Artur Rodzinski - Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra - Eugène Aynsley Goossens - Henry Holst - Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra - Malcolm Sargent - Yehudi Menuhin - Nigel Kennedy - Dong-Suk Kang

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The concerto, about a half-hour in length, is scored for violin solo and standard orchestra (the revision pared down the percussion section from the original). Like the Viola Concerto (1929), with which, along with Façade (1921–22), the composer had made his name, the work follows a pattern of lyrical opening—scherzo—sonata-form finale.

Related Topics:
Viola Concerto - ''Façade'' - Scherzo - Sonata-form

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Among the works written by Walton around the same time are the march Crown Imperial and In Honour of the City of London for double chorus and orchestra (both 1937) and the Second Orchestral Suite from Façade (1938). The violin concertos of Samuel Barber, Ernest Bloch, Benjamin Britten, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, and Paul Hindemith are contemporary, and Berg's, Schoenberg's, Sessions's, Bartok's second, and Prokofiev's second violin concertos were completed within the three years preceding the start of Walton's composition.

Related Topics:
Crown Imperial - In Honour of the City of London - Samuel Barber - Ernest Bloch - Benjamin Britten - Karl Amadeus Hartmann - Paul Hindemith - Berg - Schoenberg - Sessions - Bartok's second - Prokofiev's second

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