Our Summer BAL no. 25: Walton cello concerto

[visualnickmos]

This is a piece I first discovered in a DECCA boxed set a few years ago. Robert Cohen is the soloist. A very satisfying and enjoyable performance, and well-recorded. But discographically speaking, is it a piece that has a largely British recorded history, or are there non-British combos who do this masterpiece equal justice?

[Bryn]

Live or studio it has to be Piatigorsky for me.

[Barbirollians]

Harrell/Rattle for me - but I also love the Piatigorsky and Tortelier. I suspect my preference is simply due to the fact that I got to know the work through the Harrell.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Have just come home with a bulging bag of 21 LPs from Liskeard which has completely wrecked my finances, costing as it did £2.10 the lot

On-topic for this thread, among the spoil was Yo-Yo Ma/LSO/Previn in the Walton and Elgar. Will now have to see how it matches up to my well-loved Tortelier and the Piatigorsky

[verismissimo]

Have just come home with a bulging bag of 21 LPs from Liskeard which has completely wrecked my finances, costing as it did £2.10 the lot

On-topic for this thread, among the spoil was Yo-Yo Ma/LSO/Previn in the Walton and Elgar. Will now have to see how it matches up to my well-loved Tortelier and the Piatigorsky

Bit steep, LMP. Why didn't you bargain with them?

[amateur51]

Bit steep, LMP. Why didn't you bargain with them?

Bravo LMP - any chance of a list in due course to make us all doubly envious?

[LeMartinPecheur]

Bravo LMP - any chance of a list in due course to make us all doubly envious?

Apart from the Elgar/ Walton with Ma already mentioned there's:
- Beethoven Sonatas Op31/2 & 3 (Gilels - DGG)
- Elgar Enigma/ Cello Conc (Webber/RPO/Menuhin - Philips)
- Falla Nights.../ Rachmaninov Rhapsody (Rubinstein/ Reiner & Ormandy - RCA *)
- Faure Piano music selection Vol 2 (Albert Ferber - Saga). Got this already but thought I'd lash out 10p on a copy for a friend! Like mine it's a German pressing so hopefully nice and quiet: original price-tag says it cost a whole £2.75. Wish there'd been Vol 1 as well, haven't got that...
- Mahler Symph 2 (Price, Fassbaender/LSO/Stokowski - RCA *) His first Mahler symph recording, at age of 92!
- Mahler Lied von der Erde (Lewis, Forrester/ CSO/ Reiner - RCA *)
- Mendelssohn Symphs 3 & 4 (LSO/ Abbado - Decca. No, a Jubilee reissue, not the original SXL)
- Mozart Pf conc's 9/14 (Brendel/ Solisti di Zagreb/ Janigro - Vanguard) Still with its price sticker of £2.75 from Blackwells Mus Shop, Oxford - might just have seen and thumbed this copy there myself)
- Mozart Pf conc's 17/18 (Ax/ St Paul CO/ Zukerman - RCA)
- Mozart Pf Conc's 20/24 (Rubinstein/ Krips - RCA *)
- Mozart Divertimenti K205 & 247 (Academy Chamber Ens - Philips)
- Strauss Zarathustra/ Don Juan (CSO/ Reiner - RCA*)
- Strauss Don Juan/ Wagner Dawn & Siegfried's Rhine journey (NBCSO/ Toscanini - ALP 1173)
- Stravinsky Petrushka/ Gershwin American in Paris (Concertgebouw/ Kondrashin - Philips) Can't find any mention of this in Penguin, Amazon, EMG etc. Does it have any reputation??
- Walton Belshazzar's Feast (Noble/LPO/ Boult - Nixa NLP 904)
- Walton Facade (the classic Sitwell/Pears on LXT 2977. Pretty silly to buy it again as I have it on CD and Decca Eclipse LP, but hey, it's only 10p...)

- LPO/Boult "Concert of English Music" - LXT 5015 (Holst Perfect Fool; Butterworth Shropshire Lad & Banks of Green Willow; Bax Tintagel)
- Julian Bream (belated Happy 80th Birthday!): Boccherini, Haydn, Britten (RCA)
- Julian Bream Granados/ Albeniz recital (RCA)

The * on certain RCAs indicates a late 'Digitally remastered/ Direct Metal Mastering' LP pressing, several with 'Not for Resale' stickers as well

Oh yes, later on, further up the road I threw away a whole squid on a Czech PO/ Kletzki CD of the Eroica + Coriolan & Egmont overtures. Probably a rubbish bargainbin-label (Masters of Music) mastering - sheer extortion!

[EdgeleyRob]

Live or studio it has to be Piatigorsky for me.

Same here.

[amateur51]

Apart from the Elgar/ Walton with Ma already mentioned there's:
- Beethoven Sonatas Op31/2 & 3 (Gilels - DGG)
- Elgar Enigma/ Cello Conc (Webber/RPO/Menuhin - Philips)
- Falla Nights.../ Rachmaninov Rhapsody (Rubinstein/ Reiner & Ormandy - RCA *)
- Faure Piano music selection Vol 2 (Albert Ferber - Saga). Got this already but thought I'd lash out 10p on a copy for a friend! Like mine it's a German pressing so hopefully nice and quiet: original price-tag says it cost a whole £2.75. Wish there'd been Vol 1 as well, haven't got that...
- Mahler Symph 2 (Price, Fassbaender/LSO/Stokowski - RCA *) His first Mahler symph recording, at age of 92!
- Mahler Lied von der Erde (Lewis, Forrester/ CSO/ Reiner - RCA *)
- Mendelssohn Symphs 3 & 4 (LSO/ Abbado - Decca. No, a Jubilee reissue, not the original SXL)
- Mozart Pf conc's 9/14 (Brendel/ Solisti di Zagreb/ Janigro - Vanguard) Still with its price sticker of £2.75 from Blackwells Mus Shop, Oxford - might just have seen and thumbed this copy there myself)
- Mozart Pf conc's 17/18 (Ax/ St Paul CO/ Zukerman - RCA)
- Mozart Pf Conc's 20/24 (Rubinstein/ Krips - RCA *)
- Mozart Divertimenti K205 & 247 (Academy Chamber Ens - Philips)
- Strauss Zarathustra/ Don Juan (CSO/ Reiner - RCA*)
- Strauss Don Juan/ Wagner Dawn & Siegfried's Rhine journey (NBCSO/ Toscanini - ALP 1173)
- Stravinsky Petrushka/ Gershwin American in Paris (Concertgebouw/ Kondrashin - Philips) Can't find any mention of this in Penguin, Amazon, EMG etc. Does it have any reputation??
- Walton Belshazzar's Feast (Noble/LPO/ Boult - Nixa NLP 904)
- Walton Facade (the classic Sitwell/Pears on LXT 2977. Pretty silly to buy it again as I have it on CD and Decca Eclipse LP, but hey, it's only 10p...)

- LPO/Boult "Concert of English Music" - LXT 5015 (Holst Perfect Fool; Butterworth Shropshire Lad & Banks of Green Willow; Bax Tintagel)
- Julian Bream (belated Happy 80th Birthday!): Boccherini, Haydn, Britten (RCA)
- Julian Bream Granados/ Albeniz recital (RCA)

The * on certain RCAs indicates a late 'Digitally remastered/ Direct Metal Mastering' LP pressing, several with 'Not for Resale' stickers as well

Oh yes, later on, further up the road I threw away a whole squid on a Czech PO/ Kletzki CD of the Eroica + Coriolan & Egmont overtures. Probably a rubbish bargainbin-label (Masters of Music) mastering - sheer extortion!

Wunderbar LMP!

Thanks for the list. I remember the Czech/Kletzki Eroica well and the Mahler/Stokowski, Strauss/Reiner, Mozart piano concertos etc. The Ax/Zukermann Mozart should be interesting too. Anything conducted by Kondrashin is worth the money (especially at 10p). I wish I still had my LPs and turntable - well done

[BBMmk2]

I remember when Stokowski's Mahler 2 came out! Amazing for a nonogenerian even to take up the challenge

I have the Julian Lloyd Webber/ASMF/Marriner recording, c/w the Britten Cello Symphony.

[LeMartinPecheur]

- Faure Piano music selection Vol 2 (Albert Ferber - Saga). Got this already but thought I'd lash out 10p on a copy for a friend! Like mine it's a German pressing so hopefully nice and quiet: original price-tag says it cost a whole £2.75. Wish there'd been Vol 1 as well, haven't got that...

Phew, the relief! Friend says he's willing to cough up 10p

Won't pay the 'face-value' price though...

[Stanfordian]

I remember when Stokowski's Mahler 2 came out! Amazing for a nonogenerian even to take up the challenge

I have the Julian Lloyd Webber/ASMF/Marriner recording, c/w the Britten Cello Symphony.

Hiya maestro, I'm very interested in the many successful pupils Sir C.V. Stanford at the Royal College of Music. It's not widely known that Stokowski took compostion lessons with Stanford for a time. Stokowski's life is quite an amazing story especially when as a young man he was playing the organ at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, London when in 1905 a stranger Dr. Leighton Parks appeared in the church and offered him a prestigeous job as organist and choirmaster at the impressive St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City. Four years later he made his official condcuting debut in Paris.

[gamba]

Have just bought Walton cello concerto after hearing it last Wed.R3 with Raphael Wallfisch.0

[BBMmk2]

Hiya maestro, I'm very interested in the many successful pupils Sir C.V. Stanford at the Royal College of Music. It's not widely known that Stokowski took compostion lessons with Stanford for a time. Stokowski's life is quite an amazing story especially when as a young man he was playing the organ at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, London when in 1905 a stranger Dr. Leighton Parks appeared in the church and offered him a prestigeous job as organist and choirmaster at the impressive St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City. Four years later he made his official condcuting debut in Paris.

What an ectraordin ary life indeed! thank you Stan!

Gamba! Tell us what you think?

Dyson: Violin Concerto. Lydia Mordkovich, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Have now played my 10p (5p?) Ma/ Previn Walton cello concerto. I wuz robbed!

The 1st (moderato) movement is immoderately slow - yuk! (The Penguin Guide says both outer mov'ts are slow but I didn't notice the 3rd so much.) The 2nd mov't goes well but the 1st I think wrecks it for me, not helped by rather a big scratch.

Was this a Beckmesserian (Sachsian?) censor's mark by the disc's last owner??