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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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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

Improvisations on an Impromptu of Benjamin Britten, for orchestra (1969)

• Composition: August through November 1969
First Performance: 14 January 1970. War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco. San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips conductor.
Duration: About 16 minutes
Movements:
Theme. Lento —     
Improvisation I —     
Improvisation II. Vivo —     
Improvisation III. Pocchissimo meno mosso —     
Improvisation IV. Moderato —     
Improvisation V. Scherzando     
Dedication: To the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips, Conductor and Music Director, in memory of Adeline Smith Dorfman
Craggs Catalogue Number: C82
Instrumentation: 3 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon – 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba – timpani, 3 percussion (glockenspiel, xylophone, bells, cymbals, suspended cymbal, bass drum, tambourine, 3 bongos, snare drum, side drum) – harp – strings
Manuscript: Frederick R. Koch Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Manuscript FRKF 622. Autograph full score. 58 pages.
Publication: Oxford University Press. Study score, 1970, 019 3682443. Score and parts are available on hire. [Purchase online from SheetMusicPlus.com: Study score]
Recordings:

Orchestra Conductor Year Compact Disc Timing
London Symphony Orchestra André Previn 1972 EMI Classics 7 64723 2 16’09”
London Philharmonic Bryden Thomson 1991 Chandos CHAN 8959 15’17”