PIETER WISPELWEY

 

Walton Cello Concerto

 

Walton

Cello Concerto

1. I  Moderato

2. II Allegro appassionato

3. III Tema ed improvvisazioni

 

Cello 1760 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini

 

Bloch

Suite No. 1 for solo cello

4. Prelude

5. Allegro

6. Canzona

7. Allegro

 

Ligeti

Sonata for solo cello

8. I Dialogo. Adagio, rubato, cantabile

9. II Capriccio. Presto con slancio

 

10. Walton 10 Passacaglia for solo cello

11. Britten Ciaconna from Cello Suite No. 2

 

Cello 1698 Antonio Stradivarius ‘Magg’

 

Sydney Symphony Orchestra / Jeffrey Tate

 

In this outstanding recording of mid-20th century cello music, Pieter Wispelwey makes his first recording of the great Walton Cello Concerto. Pieter recorded the Walton in Australia in 2007 in several live concerts with the excellent Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the experienced baton of the British conductor Jeffrey Tate. This recording has been expertly edited from the live concerts (applause omitted). The rest of the recording was made in studio conditions in Holland.

 

The works for solo cello are cleverly interrelated and brings discoveries such as the Bloch Suite (written at exactly the same time as the Walton Concerto in 1957), the early Ligeti Sonata (1948-53) and two works written for Rostropovich: Britten’s Ciaconna from the 2nd suite and one of Walton’s own contributions to the ground bass form, the Passacaglia.

 

For the concerto Wispelwey plays his normal Guadagnini cello but for the solo cello works he was thrilled to be able to record on the great Magg Stradivarius from 1698

 

Total timing: 66.22

 

Onyx ONYX4042