George Walker

[ardcarp]

This week's CotW

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000czrz

I heard Lilac for tenor and orchestra on today's programme, and was impressed by it and its performance. Wow, that tenor Albert Lee has an eye-watering range!

I have to make a confession though. I had not heard of George Walker before. His son is a guest on the programme.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It's been an ear-opening series of programmes for me - I'd only known the composer's work from the Lyric for Strings which Cineke! performed at the Proms a couple of years ago: a pleasant enough piece (and a decent candidate for any orchestra wanting an alternative to the Barber Adagio) but not one that urged me to explore the composer's other work. It turns out that that early work isn't very representative of Walker's subsequent Music, which I find much more interesting. Shades of Carter, Berg, Webern, and Stravinsky (particularly the serial works) - perhaps closest to Cerha of Walker's contemporaries, it's much more up my street, and I do feel urged to hear more of it. It is, I find, a little derivative - I was wrily amused to hear his son tell us on Tuesday that his father bristled whenever critics pointed out "influences" on his work: understandable, but, on first hearing, the influences are rather too clear to avoid mentioning. Nonetheless, (also on first hearing) these are impressive works worth exploring in greater detail.

A good week of programmes, too - especially from yesterday, when the "here's a movement from one work followed by another movement from a different work" format favoured by CotW was replaced by the (old-CotW-style) "complete works" approach. A very good first full week of the year.

[Serial_Apologist]

Thanks - I had wondered if this one was worth bothering with.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Thanks - I had wondered if this one was worth bothering with.

I think it's exactly up your street, too, S_A (mebbe listen to the progs from Tues onward before Monday's).

[Serial_Apologist]

I think it's exactly up your street, too, S_A (mebbe listen to the progs from Tues onward before Monday's).

Will do!