JAVS Spring 2001

32

VOL. 17 No.1

jOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOlA SOCIETY

conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. The composer never withdrew the original score. Rather, he "authorized that both the original and the new orchestration may be used," even though he pre ferred the later version. 5 The revised edition is now the standard version for performance. At first glance, it appears that the new version is simply a re-orchestration. A note appears on the score "... in 1961, the composer re-scored the work for a smaller orchestra, using double instead of triple woodwinds, omitting one trumpet and tuba, and adding a harp." 6 However, the reasoning behindWalton's revision or the effect the revision had on the solo part is never addressed. Although Walton did not comment on his reasoning, there are several possible explanations behind the 1961 revision. Revisions in Walton's compositions are not uncommon; a number of his works were published and then republished after he made alterations. Walton's string com positions were most often the works that underwent revision. For example, both the Violin Concerto and Walton's string quartet were revised following their initial completion. Like the Viola Concerto, Belshazzar's Feast, another Walton masterpiece, underwent alterations that included re-scoring. Although this work was composed between 1930 and 1931, Walton had revised so many passages by 1948 that it was necessary to incorporate them into a new edition of the entire score.? Why did Walton frequently revise his compositions? Why did he make revisions in the Viola Concerto, which had been well received for thirty years? A closer look at his training and expe rience only begins to unravel the mystery. Considering William Walton's early biography, it is amazing that he became a great composer of a variety of different genres: songs, concertos, operas, symphonies, string quartets, and movie music. Walton was born in a small English town where his father was choir-master. From an early age, Walton showed talent for singing. Although he eventually decided to study music in school, Walton never obtained a degree in music or arts. He left school after three failed attempts at pass ing his Responsions, the required final examinations. He had very little orchestral experience, "self-taught in orchestral matters, by trial and error and instinct ... Walton claimed only to play the pianoforte very badly, and his practical musical work was chiefly as a chorister." 8 IfWalton had little knowledge ofgeneral orchestral matters, he had even less knowledge of the viola. He claimed that when he started the concerto he knew little about the instrument "except that it made a 'rather awful sound' ." 9 Walton was familiar with the most common pieces ofviola solo repertoire at the time, Berliois Harold in Italy and Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, and admit ted that the concerto was influenced by Hindemith's Kammermusik No. 5. 10 These three pieces were the extent of his familiarity with the instrument. In light of the composer's limited knowl edge of the concerto's solo instrument, the 1961 revision becomes more understandable The revision of the Viola Concerto was a chance for Walton to demonstrate his growth as a composer in writing both for orchestra and for the viola. Initially composed when he was just 26 years old, the first version of the Concerto was an amazing demonstration ofWalton's composi tional ability. The 1961 revision of the concerto followed a period of maturing in Walton's musi cal style that corresponded to Europe's involvement in World War II. While Walton's style remained recognizable throughout his career, a more refined emotional quality emerged between 1940 and 1945.l1 Performers of the Viola Concerto also had a part in its revision. Walton had the chance to hear his work performed by some of the world's greatest violists, most notably Paul Hindemith, Lionel Tertis, and William Primrose. These men not only played the Concerto, but also adopted it as a cornerstone of their performance repertoire. They played the Viola Concerto regularly and were experts in its performance, aware of its strengths as well as its weaknesses. When Primrose was asked what he believed to be the reason behind the revision, he stated, I think that he [Walton] had been requested by a number of violists to possibly re-score it, because there were instances that I, too, felt were simply too heavy for the soloist. He made some subtle adjustments and I like them very much. 12 Hindemith, Tertis, and Primrose were aware of the barrier they faced as early virtuosos of the instrument. They were "keenly aware of the reputation the viola had gained as a nasty, growling,

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