Viola Concerto (Walton)
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The Viola Concerto by William Walton was written in 1929 for the famous violist Lionel Tertis. The concerto was modelled on Prokofiev's First Violin Concerto, which Walton admired. Tertis initially shunned the work and the premiere was done by Paul Hindemith, who later championed the work. Tertis later took the work up himself. The concerto carries the dedication "To Christabel" (Christabel McLaren, Lady Aberconway).
The work follows the standard three-movement format for a concerto:
- Andante comodo
- Vivo, con molto preciso
- Allegro moderato
The work is generally considered one of the more difficult in the repertoire, as the intonation and notes tend to be awkward for even the most accomplished violist. Numerous recordings have been made of the piece, by such violists as Yuri Bashmet, Nobuko Imai, Jonathan L. Murray, Lawrence Power, Paul Neubauer, and William Primrose. Many soloists better known for their violin playing have also recorded the concerto, including Nigel Kennedy, Maxim Vengerov, and Yehudi Menuhin.
