Walton viola Concerto beyond the score

Alberto García Pérez

The Walton Viola Concerto is one of the most famous and recognized compositions in the viola repertoire. Apart from this, it is a compulsory piece in any viola orchestra audition. This research is focused on my practice and artistic process of the Walton Concerto, consequently subjective, to create an artistic choice. In order to achieve an ideal interpretation of this composition, I will investigate and analyze the first two recordings made of the Concerto, as both represent different versions of the piece with several differences between them. These recordings were made by Frederick Riddle in 1937, and by the famous violist William Primrose in 1946. This research aims to: (1) decide what details or alternatives I can recover from these recordings to inspire my own interpretation, and (2) find out what ideas from the first recording are reflected in the second one. Taking into consideration these recordings, I first drew up a list mentioning the differences found between them. Then, I classified these differences into different categories such as bowings, different notes, fingerings, orchestration, and so on. Finally, I recorded myself playing both versions of some passages. The main outcome I found is to discover that the sound-based approach (listening to recordings and experimenting with them) is a richer source of inspiration for a musician than a purely score-based comparison. I hope these artistic ideas can be a great stimulus and encouragement to other violists who want to play this wonderful Concerto.