Walton Violin Concerto!
On this CD, James Ehnes performs the Barber, Korngold, and Walton concerti, and he is accompanied by the Vancouver Symphony under Bramwell Tovey.
I believe that the concerto was written for the great violinist, Jascha Heifetz, and Heifetz performed it extensively during his playing career. The concerto’s movements are:
• Andante tranquilio
• Presto Capriccioso alla Napolitana
• Vivace
This CD presents an excellent rendition of the Walton concerto, and shows us Mr. Ehnes’ strong emotional radiance and his fine technical capabilities. The concerto’s movement — titled Presto Capriccioso alla Napolitana — is technically very difficult, written as it was for Heifetz who had asked for something demanding; it is a tarantella with a bunch of off-accents, and breathtaking double-stops and complicated bowings. Ehnes manages all this with seeming ease, which credits this fine interpretation. His playing is clean, crisp, secure, and confident. We will hear a lot more from him in the future, I am certain…
Gil Shaham has also been performing this concerto, and I came across Mr. Shaham’s interesting comments on this music:
Here is Mr. Shaham on the Walton concerto:
And here’s a video of another great violinist, Pinchas Zukerman, talking about James Ehnes:
And… while unrelated, here is Gil Shaham in the 3rd movement of Mozart’s violin concerto #5: