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WILLIAM WALTON

WILLIAM WALTON

Welcome

Welcome

I am delighted to introduce to you the website of William Walton Trust. As international appreciation continues to grow for one of the great men of British music we hope that this site will prove interesting and informative both to those who are looking for general information and to those seeking specialist help.

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The trust

The William Walton Trust holds a special position in the United Kingdom, achieved through the active role which the Trust plays in running arts education projects and ...

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Mission

The William Walton Trust and the Fondazione William Walton e La Mortella have the following general objectives:

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You do not know Giardini la Mortella?

Visit the site of the spectacular subtropical and mediterranean garden developed since 1956 by the late Susana Walton.

Giardini la Mortella

Symphony No. 2, for orchestra (1957–60)

• Composition: 1957–60
• First Performance: 2 September 1960. Usher Hall, Edinburgh. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir John Pritchard conductor.
• Duration: About 28 minutes
• Movements: I. Allegro molto - II. Lento assai - III. Passacaglia: Theme. Risoluto — Variations — Fugato — Coda. Scherzando     
• Dedication: “Commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society and re-dedicated to the memory of George Szell”
• Craggs Catalogue Number: C68
• Instrumentation: 3 flutes, piccolo, 3 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon – 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba – timpani, 4 percussion (military drum, tenor drum, bass drum, cymbals, glockenspiel, vibraphone, xylophone, tambourine, tuned bell in D – 2 harps – piano – celesta – strings
• Manuscript: Frederick R. Koch Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Manuscript FRKF 634. Autograph full score. Dedication reads: ‘Dedicated to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society’. The final movement is dated ‘22.7.60, Forio d’Ischia’. 117 pages.
FRKF 634a. An earlier version of the first movement.
• Publication: Oxford University Press. Study score, 1960, 019 3684217. Score and parts are available on hire. [Purchase online from SheetMusicPlus.com: Study score]
• Recordings:

Orchestra Conductor Year Compact Disc Timing
Cleveland Orchestra George Szell 1962 Sony Classical SBK 62753 26’57”
London Symphony Orchestra André Previn 1973 EMI Classics 73371
EMI Classics 86595		 27’28”
London Symphony Orchestra Sir Charles Mackerras 1989 EMI Classics 28’23”
London Philharmonic Bryden Thomson 1989 Chandos CHAN 8772 29’29”
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Vladimir Ashkenazy 1991 London 433 703-2 27’53”
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Martyn Brabbins 1993/5 BBC Music Mag. 34D 28’19”
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Andrew Litton 1994 London 444 114-2 28’05”
English Northern Philharmonia Paul Daniel 1995 Naxos 8.553402 27’41”