Walton is one of the few composers to have really understood the viola's unique inner voice and Power traces the music's emotional contours with unerring accuracyВ вЂ¦ the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under its gifted chief conductor, Ilan Volkov, also sounds utterly transported, illuminating Walton's and Rubbra's elusive musical idioms with playing of considerable accomplishment. In Power's skilled hands the viola is transformed from the lumbering second-class citizen of legend into a sleek, fine-tuned, noble instrument of infinite grace and expressive subtlety. Lawrence Power magically combines the soulful intensity of Lionel Tertis with the quicksilver agility of that other British viola genuis, William Primrose. вЂThis is music that is somehow virtuosic but not showy, bold and exuberant in places yet profoundly intimate, tinged with a nostalgic reflectiveness yet never merely self-indulgent. Ilan Volkov matches his soloist with a spontaneity and complete musical unity thatВ вЂ¦ reveal this work to be a greater masterpiece than most of us have experienced until nowВ вЂ¦ such richly poetic performances as these should be in everyone's record collectionвЂ™ (International Record Review) In this, he is abetted by an orchestral contribution under the baton of a superbly gifted conductor. The quality of the recording is one thing, but the engineers can capture only the performance taking place, and in this regard, and on this showing, Lawrence Power has to be counted as one of the finest masters of his instrumentВ вЂ¦ he plays with a perfect sense of style and with a profound understanding of and insight into each score as well as a technical mastery and sure intonation which are wholly exceptional. This new Hyperion disc is actually the first recording of it to have been made in stereo, and the richness of the original orchestration comes across in Andrew Keener's production with greater delicacy and impact than it has ever had before. вЂThis is a greatly distinguished discВ вЂ¦ these very different composers have each produced a masterly work, each of which receives here the finest performance I have heard of either scoreВ вЂ¦ a new recording of the superior original orchestration is very welcome indeed.

William walton violin concerto imslp