Walton: Violin Concerto, Portsmouth Point, Suite from Troilus & Cressida

Sinfonia of London and John Wilson begin a new series of recordings of works by Sir William Walton with this album, featuring Charlie Lovell-Jones as soloist in the Violin Concerto. The concerto was first performed in America in 1939 and was enthusiastically received. It was inspired by Walton's friend and lover Alice Wimborne and is inherently extremely lyrical and passionate. The second movement is a wild, virtuosic Tarantella. Lovell-Jones has performed internationally with major orchestras and has appeared in radio and television broadcasts. As conductor of the multi-award-winning Sinfonia of London, he has performed at the BBC Proms and recorded numerous albums. He is the winner of a number of major international competitions. Alice Wimborne was also a driving force behind the creation of Walton's first major opera, "Troilus and Cressida", which was composed over nearly a decade, largely after her early death. Here we hear the four-movement orchestral suite, which was compiled in 1987 by Christopher Palmer at the suggestion of Lady Walton and his lifelong publisher OUP. Walton's overture "Portsmouth Point" is the earliest work on the album and was first performed in 1926.