The major work here is the superb Variations on a Theme by Hindemith, the masterpiece of William Walton’s later years. The definitive recorded statement of this piece continues to be Szell’s performance with the technically breathtaking Cleveland Orchestra, also offered at budget price, but this is the first modern version to stand comparison with that classic account. Of course, the English Northern Philharmonia is no Cleveland Orchestra, but conductor Paul Daniel offers instead an extremely sympathetic response to Walton’s music, shaping a vigorous and cogent performance. The same qualities are equally evident in the busy Sinfonia Concertante (performed here in its 1927 original version) and in the cinematic “Spitfire” Prelude and Fugue (an adaptation of one of the composer’s film scores). Of the three discs released so far in Naxos’ Walton series, this by far is the finest, both in sound and performance.
