William Walton's reputation rests primarily with 'Façade' and 'Belshazzar's Feast'. However, Walton was an accomplished composer who felt comfortable in virtually all genres whether it was film scoring or the delightful Concertos on this CD. The first movement of the Violin Concerto is an extended dreamy andante that is punctuated by a dramatic and virtuosic middle section before revisiting the movement's secondary theme provided by flute and strings. The second movement consists of a nonstop presto of a technical level that must have proved quite daunting for the work's dedicatee, Jascha Heifetz. But it is the bravura and exciting finale that showcases both the felicity and virtuoso skills of Dong-Suk Kang for this recording. The Cello Concerto, Walton's favorite of his three concertos, was written for Gregor Piatigorsky. Although this is a rather somber (but passionate) work, Walton's preference may have to do with his brilliant combination of harp, vibraphone and celesta in the final movement. And certainly the slow fade of the work's final measures for solo cello (beautifully rendered by Tim Hugh), a revisit to the work's opening movement, is the most stunning moment of all.
