Walton: Belshazzar's Feast / Symphony No. 1 (recorded live at the Barbican 2008)

"The LSO Chorus give Walton's grateful choral writing all they have, and the orchestra revel in his brilliant and unconventional orchestration: E flat clarinet, alto saxophone, exotic percussion and extra brass. Davis, too, proves an absolutely authentic performer. He has come late to this thrilling choral drama on disc, but better that than never." Sunday Times, 6th March 2011 ****

"This outstanding performance of Belshazzar's Feast was recorded during concerts September 28-30, 2008. Walton's powerful cantata/oratorio/choral symphony, is given a thrilling reading, with the chorus and orchestra in spectacular form. This is the only SACD version of this large-scale major choral work."
(Classicalcdreview)

DSD recording, live at the Barbican September 2008 (Belshazzar's Feast) and September/December 2005 (Symphony No 1) Stereo and multi-channel (5.0).

In 2006 LSO Live released Walton's First Symphony conducted by Sir Colin Davis. The disc received widespread acclaim - it was an Editor's Choice in Gramophone and voted CD of the Year by listeners of BBC Radio 3 CD Review. It is now being re-released, coupled with a new recording of Walton's spectacular oratorio Belshazzar's Feast.

Walton's Symphony No 1 and Belshazzar's Feast, which were written consecutively, helped him consolidate his reputation as the most exciting British composer of his generation. Belshazzar's Feast, a superbly crafted oratorio, vividly depicts the story of Babylon's excesses and subsequent downfall, brilliantly coloured by the orchestral forces, including two brass bands. Similarly effervescent, volcanic sentiments simmer beneath the surface of the First Symphony, the music conveying the tensions of the 1930s, whilst remaining timeless in its appeal.

LSO Live has recently released Sir Colin's recording of Verdi's Otello and the first in a cycle of Nielsen Symphonies. Forthcoming releases include Haydn's The Seasons.