Walton: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Orb and Sceptre

On their DG debut album, Japanese conductor Kazuki Yamada and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) present three works by English composer William Walton – Orb and Sceptre and the composer’s two symphonies, all new to the DG catalogue. The two symphonies illustrate different stages in Walton’s career, before and after World War II. Twenty-five years lie between Walton’s powerful First Symphony, premiered in 1935, and his more contemplative Second Symphony, dedicated to Georg Szell. The third piece, Orb and Sceptre march, is a commission work for the coronation of Elizabeth II, whose 100th birthday we will commemorate in 2026. “They have a special telepathy, a sixth sense. We can feel each other in the music, even without words. It’s a real partnership, like a family. They welcomed me from the beginning, and now it’s like a love story,” says Yamada on his collaboration with the CBSO.