BBC Philharmonic - Walton Symphony No. 1

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra John Storgårds conductor Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Cassandra Miller Dad Goes to the Mountain (world premiere) William Walton Symphony No. 1 A world premiere by Cassandra Miller draws on customarily eclectic sources: a track from Peruvian banda San Martin di Sicuani; the transformative power of dementia; ideas of erasure, and ‘becoming-light.’ Expect wobbling sustains and elliptical melodies. Around it are two of the finest orchestral works of the last century. Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia , scored for the unusual combination of double string orchestra with string quartet, and William Walton’s First Symphony . In 1935, Walton dedicated his Symphony No. 1 to his former lover, Baroness Imma von Doernberg, though the pair had been separated for some time. That relationship clearly left an impression. This is a turbulent, frenzied work drawing on an inexhaustible supply of white-hot fury. Malice, passion, ebullience – it’s quite the musical feast.