Yuri Bashmet plays Viola concerto by Sir William Walton

[ayandratamyres94]

Maravilhoso :o

[mrwasbesonders]

4:21 his c string sound is just as boxy as Vengerov, I'm afraid that's just what little violas sound like, to not sound like s**t down there something like 16.5 inches is required. And for a viola to be acoustically correct it would have to be 24 inches in size, one day the viola history books will be rewritten by a 9 foot giant!

[vyvyanos]

Why can't yuri bashmet play in tune? Is he drunk in recording sessions as well?

[amanofsoup]

@vyvyanos Do you call 4:46 out of tune? You speak such absurdities man.

[MrsPopcorn9119]

VIOLA POWER! lol. awesome thanks for uploading!

[laresoldo39]

I prefer my version.rsrsrsrs

[calloffthedogs]

I think this along with Bartok is the finest Viola concerto every written

[soadfan]

totally agree man. The Bartok is immensely intricate, fast-paced, strongly adept for viola...and Bashmet's ability on the piece is just brilliant

[calloffthedogs]

I like William Primrose playing both Walton and Bartok. I played both along with Der Schwannendreher, but I never enjoyed the Hindemith like I did the Bartok. Bartok is amazing and very intellectually robust.

[doumne]

@calloffthedogs

you dn't know Forsyth?

[DhAoS1020]

@doumne A LOT of violists don't know the Forsyth.

It's my favorite of all viola concertoes though.

I LOVE it.

[soadfan]

oh please everyone. Vengerov's version is a little more luscious and expressively attractive...though i would agree that, quite obviously, Bashmet is the superior violist, seeing that Vengerov is mainly a violinist- though i dont rule him out in legitimacy as a violist- his playing is quite beautiful. Kim Kashkashian is another violist with aptitude in the field...

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

I think Bashmet's recording is better than every way. Some people have their own as opinion as to what "luscious" and "expressive" are but I don't think that playing everything more slowly necessarily makes something more lush or expressive.

[soadfan]

no one said that playing it more slowly did such a thing. As for the tempo choice- there definitely is something as far as room for expression, handling longer, drawn out phrases- or vice versa. Bashmet's is stern at times, while Vengerov's is constantly mindful of wear to pull and to hold back...

[calloffthedogs]

I will take Primrose any day.

[speedy2343]

exactly. I bet if Vengerov was playing behind a screen where noone could see him, only hear him, they probably wouldn't even tell the difference. Viola players are just jealous because a violin player could play their instrument well. So you Viola players need to chill.

[DhAoS1020]

@speedy2343 Not true, I love Vengerov and his movement makes me love him more, and I'm a violist.

[Ichneumon1980]

i feel like smelting@4:30 - absolutely beautiful playing -

[ViolistHan23]

ah such lovely music! how i love bashmet's playing...

[ArnoldAmador]

Walton was an amazing composer

we took took one of his sonatas for strings to contest a couple of years ago and we pulled it off

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

For me, Bashmet's playing has been an acquired taste. I hated his sound at first but over time it started to grow on me. Something about his steely, brighter viola sound has finally started to appeal to me. His playing is also very masculine, which is a plus for me. I like him more and more everyday.

[kyleclef]

i can hardly listen to any other viola player than him, for me he is the viola.

[animeviolalord]

This is probably the best recording I've ever heard for this concerto. I can hear the jazz influence in Walton through some of the syncopation.

[RaRaLandEQ]

wow.... faster than vengerov's version(but of course you'd expect vengerov's version to be molto expressivo, even if it's not annotated as such:). Saw him play a schnittke piece in amsterdam(no, not the viola concerto--i wish! it was an ensemble piece) I highly recommend the schnittke and gubaidulina viola concertos here on youtube.

And please don't start some childish viola vs violin, bashmet vs vengerov ridiculous rant.

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

I'm going to start a ridiculous rant: Bashmet > Vengerov

[RaRaLandEQ]

:) What an eloquent rant. Allow me to rebut.

Vengerov > Bashmet

Rabble! Rabble! Rabble!

[MutedMyself]

Bashmet is more... sensitive? To the tone. Vengerov, while his expression is excellent, does not have quite the finesse as Bashmet.

But, Vengerov is more fun to watch. :3

[belthazar02]

vengerov is a violinist trying to be a violist ... he is a bad violist

Primrose is the best violist

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

In one single simply-worded comment you have accurately stated the 2 greatest truths in the universe.

[auerstadt06]

Walton is the most neglected composer I can think of. Perhaps if he had written more he would be as famous as Ravel or Prokofiev .

[JiangxenPeter]

@auerstadt06 I think the problem with Walton is the same as with most British composers of his era, eg Bantock, Butterworth, Forsyth, Finzi, Bridge, Arnold, Bax etc who are only recently being popularised. It's the insularity of British music at the time and its struggle for light in the long shadow cast by Elgar, and then RVW. Walton was one of the last great romantics breaking into a modern language which all too soon became colonised by Britten etc. But still a mighty great in is own right!

[Giuliani7222]

Very well played.

Now all you need to do is post the second and first movements :D

[JDIsASuperman]

And maybe the rest of this movement? XD

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

@Giuliani7222 I was fooled by how amazing this sounded and purchased his recordings of the 1st and 2nd movements on itunes. Big mistake. In this recording how sounds amazing and this recording defines to me how the 3rd movement should be played, but I really dislike his recordings of the other 2 movements.