WALTON: Viola Concerto; BERLIOZ: Harold in Italy–Symphony, Op. 16 –
William Primrose, viola/ RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra/Frieder
Weissman; Philharmonia Orchestra/William Walton; Boston Symphony
Orchestra/Serge Koussevitzky (Berlioz)
Naxos 8.110316 79:41 *****:
Recordings from 1944-1946 featuring William Primrose (1904-1982), who,
after Lionel Tertis (1876-1975), enjoyed an international repute as the
world’s foremost viola virtuoso. In splendidly quiet restorations
edited by Mark Obert-Thorn, we have Primrose’s second inscription (the
first having been made with Walter Goehr) of the Henri Casadesus
“forgery” of the Bach-Handelian style in the manner of Fritz Kreisler.
The tone of Primrose’s Macdonald Strad alternates between an alto
burnished sheen and the flights of a deeply coloristic tenor. The
vibrato is quite fast, and Primrose sports a lean, athletic style whose
range of figuration and articulation is liquid and plastic at once.
Some lovely orchestral polish from the pickup orchestra under the
direction of German émigré Frieder Weissman, better known for his
operatic repertory.
The Walton Concerto has the composer-conductor making his second
inscription, the first having been with Frederick Riddle. Primrose
negotiates its tricky metrics with debonair grace and a light hand. The
Philharmonia Orchestra, still a new ensemble in 1946 created by Walter
Legge, has its own band of brilliant wind players, who shine in every
aspect of the concerto. The 1944 Berlioz with Koussevitzky has remained
a monumental reading since its original appearance on 78 rpm. Despite
tempo fluctuations and ad libitum accelerandi from
Koussevitzky–Toscanini often lamented Koussevitzky’s deviations from
the score–the performance enjoys a romantic sweep and massive texture
thoroughly in the heroic mold. The tempo for the March of the Pilgrims
is exactly on target–neither dragging in the Beecham manner nor too
brisk a la Toscanini to keep its devotional swagger. The playing of the
Boston Symphony in the Orgy of the Brigands, with its echoes of
Beethoven’s Ninth, is superb, given the hysterics of the part-writing.
The Primrose singing line finds its most exemplary vehicle in this
recording, for which I share, along with Martin Bookspan, an unabashed
enthusiasm. Heartily recommended!
–Gary Lemco
