There seems to be a glut of new Walton recordings in the offing. And as you may predict, the performance of Symphony No. 2 is better than that of No. 1. In the later work Martyn Brabbins’ lively tempos and clean orchestral textures do all that’s necessary to reveal the work’s rich fund of color and sensual atmosphere. The First symphony, though, while one of the great 20th-century masterworks, is a very tough piece to play, requiring great virtuosity and concentration. It doesn’t quite get it here.
The first movement opens promisingly, and would have been fabulous if taken just a hair more quickly. No complaints about the scherzo though: it’s pungent and biting, while the slow movement is aptly moody. The finale starts well, light and swift, but Brabbins introduces the coda with an unconvincingly mannered ritard (Walton only marks it “poco allargando”), and the closing pages hang fire.
The engineering offers excellent clarity in the bass but places the woodwinds a touch too far back, and doesn’t give the timpani (in the First symphony) the necessary prominence. Good then, and enjoyable enough, but not great, in repertoire in which greatness is not in particularly short supply. [8/3/2011]
