Walton & Barber: Violin Concertos

Walton’s Violin Concerto was composed during a stay at the stunning Villa Cimbrone on Italy's Amalfi coast, and reflects this environment in different ways—some more apparent than others (the 2nd movement is based on a ‘tarantella’, after Walton suffered a tarantula bite whilst there). The piece has endured as one of his most popular works, and is contrasted here by Barber’s Violin Concerto and famous Adagio for Strings. Making his debut recording as a soloist on Signum, Thomas Bowes has built a firm reputation as an orchestral leader, soloist and chamber musician. He has also concert-mastered many film scores—the most recent credit being for The King's Speech. The Malmö Opera Orchestra and conductor Joseph Swensen join him for this recording.

SIGCD238  66 minutes 0 seconds
'Thomas Bowes, best known as an orchestral leader and founder member of the Maggini Quartet, shows his mettle as a formidable virtuoso in these deeply felt readings of two violin concertos that share ...
'The violin concertos by William Walton and Samuel Barber are almost exactly contemporary – the Walton received its first performance in 1939, two years before the Barber—and they share not only a fun ...