Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast & Improvisations on an Impromptu of Benjamin Britten

The cantata Belshazzar’s Feast, after the famous Writing on the wall biblical episode, was a youth work of William Walton, then the enfant terrible of British music. A very impressive composition, it had an immediate success and still remains one of the most beloved Walton’s compositions. André Previn’s rendition from 1972, which was awarded a Grammy, enhances the power and majestic of this captivating score.

Walton very much admired the young Benjamin Britten, who he took under his wing and helped at the beginning of his career. He paid tribute to his genius by composing a series of “improvisations” after a theme from Britten’s piano concerto. Previn’s version with the London Symphony Orchestra was the premiere on record.