This was one of the first releases on the new and short-lived independent Virgin Classics label, and it remains one of the best versions of Walton’s First Symphony. Leonard Slatkin actually matches André Previn’s benchmark RCA recording in the ferocity of rhythmic energy unleashed in the first two movements, with a first-movement coda that’s particularly impressive with its braying horns and screaming piccolo. The slow movement is also beautiful–bittersweet and moody. If the finale comes off as perhaps just a touch slick, the fault probably lies as much with Walton as with the performance as such. Portsmouth Point makes a perfect curtain-raiser to the symphony’s main event, and the engineering was, and remains, excellent. Now available “on-demand” from Arkivmusic.com, this production deserves a home in your collection. [12/6/2007]
