"A definitive symphonic venture for the Rolls-Royce of English composers"
William Walton is one of a handful of top-drawer composers who made their mark conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and memories of his 1964 tour can be relived on a double CD from the American Bridge label.
The twin peaks of that visit were the 1939 Violin Concerto, with soloist Berl Senofsky and the 1935 First Symphony.
Walton's own description of himself as a classical composer with a strong feeling for lyricism comes to mind with a new recording of the concerto, featuring American violinist Kurt Nikkanen and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra under William Boughton.
