Scapino is a short work for large orchestra by William Walton, described by the composer as a "comedy overture". It was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was first performed in 1941. A revised version was premiered in 1950.
Scapino is a short work for large orchestra by William Walton, described by the composer as a "comedy overture". It was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was first performed in 1941. A revised version was premiered in 1950.
In July 1938 William Walton, by this time established as a leading composer, received a visit from Frederick Stock, conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who was commissioning works for the 1940–41 season to celebrate the orchestra's fiftieth anniversary. [1] [n 1] Walton accepted the commission, and originally planned an extensive suite of five pieces to be called Varii Capricci. [n 2] He had in mind a series of commedia dell'arte sketches. [3]
Among Walton's earlier works was Portsmouth Point , a lively overture inspired by an 1814 etching by Thomas Rowlandson, and the composer abandoned the idea of a suite in favour of another such overture. He again drew inspiration from an old print, in this case the character Scapin in Jacques Callot's Les Trois Pantalons, dating from 1619. Scapin – Scapino in the original Italian – was the rascally servant in the commedia dell'arte , who helped plan the escapades of his master, Harlequin, and in particular his amorous adventures; he was not without such escapades of his own. [4] In the 1950 edition of the published score, Walton included this note:
The first performance was given in Chicago on 3 April 1941 with a repeat performance a fortnight later. [5] Because of evacuation from London during the Second World War, the British premiere was given in the town of Bedford 60 miles (97 kilometres) north of London, where the BBC Symphony Orchestra was temporarily based. The composer conducted. [6] The London premiere, also under Walton, was given by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall on 13 December 1941. [7]
The original score was written for an unusually large orchestra, and Walton revised the work to make it suitable for conventional orchestra forces. [8] Wilhelm Furtwängler conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra in the first performance of the revision in November 1950 at the Albert Hall. [9]
In its revised 1950 form, the work is scored for three flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, one cor anglais, two clarinets, one bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, one tuba and one harp, with a percussion section comprising timpani, cymbals, triangle, castanets, Chinese temple blocks, glockenspiel, xylophone, side drum, bass drum, tam-tam and strings. [10]
The overture typically takes between eight and nine minutes in performance. [3] [8] After the first London performance, The Times described it thus:
The character Scapino is presented in two contrasting themes at the opening of the work, the first molto vivace on the trumpet; it is, in Michael Kennedy's words, "preceded by a flurry of strings and woodwind and a crash of percussion. Typical Walton, no one else". The second theme is also lively, but is less assertive. After the two themes have been presented and developed, Walton introduces a slower and more flowing melody for violas and cor anglais, "come una serenata" (like a serenade), depicting Scapino's romantic side. The two livelier themes return and the work ends boisterously. [11]
Recordings of Scapino include:
| Orchestra | Conductor | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Symphony | Frederick Stock | OCLC 12865926 |
| Philharmonia | Composer | OCLC 754443469 |
| London Philharmonic | Sir Adrian Boult | OCLC 858501582 |
| Royal Liverpool Philharmonic | Sir Charles Groves | OCLC 17586549 |
| London Symphony | Composer | OCLC 30528045 |
| London Philharmonic | Bryden Thomson | OCLC 611490172 |
| London Symphony | André Previn | OCLC 754443469 |
| Bournemouth Symphony | Andrew Litton | OCLC 966319541 |
| Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria | Adrian Leaper | OCLC 76760048 |
| Royal Liverpool Philharmonic | John Wilson | OCLC 885041945 |
An arrangement for military band has been recorded by The President's Own United States Marine Band. ( OCLC 884886458).
The cor anglais, or English horn is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto oboe in F.
Sir William Turner Walton was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include Façade, the cantata Belshazzar's Feast, the Viola Concerto, the First Symphony, and the British coronation marches Crown Imperial and Orb and Sceptre.
The Violin Concerto by William Walton was written in 1938–39 and dedicated to Jascha Heifetz, who commissioned the work and performed it at its premiere on 7 December 1939 with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Artur Rodziński. The British premiere, delayed by the Second World War, was given on 1 November 1941, with Henry Holst as soloist and the composer conducting. Walton later reorchestrated the concerto; the revised version was premiered in 1944. The work has been frequently recorded and has established itself as one of the composer's most durable compositions.
The Viola Concerto by William Walton was written in 1929 and first performed at the Queen's Hall, London on 3 October of that year by Paul Hindemith as soloist and the composer conducting. It had been written with the violist Lionel Tertis in mind, and he took the work up after initially rejecting it. The concerto established Walton as a substantial figure in British music and has been recorded by leading violists internationally. Walton revised the instrumentation of the concerto in 1961, lightening the orchestral textures.
Crown Imperial is an orchestral march by William Walton, commissioned for the coronation of King George VI in Westminster Abbey in 1937. It is in the Pomp and Circumstance tradition, with a brisk opening contrasting with a broad middle section, leading to a resounding conclusion. The work has been heard at subsequent state occasions in the Abbey: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the wedding of Prince William in 2011 and the coronation of King Charles III in 2023. It has been recorded in its original orchestral form and in arrangements for organ, military band and brass band.
Façade is a series of poems by Edith Sitwell, best known as part of Façade – An Entertainment in which the poems are recited over an instrumental accompaniment by William Walton. The poems and the music exist in several versions.
The Symphony No. 2 by William Walton was written between 1957 and 1960, and premiered in September 1960. It received a mixed reception at first: some critics thought Walton's music old-fashioned. Subsequently it has been re-evaluated and praised. The work was first performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by John Pritchard and was first recorded by the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by George Szell. It has subsequently been recorded by conductors from Britain, the US and elsewhere.
In the South (Alassio), Op. 50, is a concert overture composed by Edward Elgar during a family holiday in Italy in the winter of 1903 to 1904. He was working on a symphony, but the local atmosphere inspired him instead to write what some have seen as a tone poem, with an Italian flavour. At about 20 minutes' duration it was the composer's longest sustained orchestral piece to that time.
Scapino or Scapin is a Zanni character from the commedia dell'arte. His name is related to the Italian word "scappare" and his name translates to "little escape artist" in reference to his tendency to flee from fights, even those he himself begins. He has been dated to the last years of the 16th century, and his creation is sometimes credited to Niccolò Barbieri. He is a Bergamo native, and was popularized by the actor Francesco Gabrielli.
The Symphony No. 1 in B♭ minor is one of two symphonies by the English composer William Walton. The composer had difficulty in completing the work, and its first public performance was given without the finale, in 1934. The complete four-movement work was premiered the following year.
Anthony Vincent Benedictus Collins was a British composer and conductor. He scored around 30 films in the US and the UK between 1937 and 1954, and composed the British light music classic Vanity Fair in 1952. His Decca recordings of the seven Sibelius symphonies was the second cycle by a single conductor and orchestra released.
Portsmouth Point is an overture for orchestra by the English composer William Walton, composed in 1925. The work was inspired by Rowlandson's print depicting Portsmouth Point. Walton recalled that the main musical had come into his mind whilst riding on a route 22 bus in London. Walton dedicated the score to the poet Siegfried Sassoon, who had recommended that Oxford University Press publish the score. The score was first published in piano-duet form in 1925. The full orchestral score was published in 1928.
Orb and Sceptre is a march for orchestra written by William Walton for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, London, on 2 June 1953. It follows the pattern of earlier concert marches by Elgar and Walton himself in consisting of a brisk opening section followed by a broad melody in the middle, trio, section and a return to the lively first theme to conclude the piece after a second appearance of the big tune.
William Walton received a commission for an original composition from Granada Television in June 1961. Walton delivered the work in August 1962 as Granada Prelude, Call Signs and End Music.
Johannesburg Festival Overture is a composition for orchestra by the English composer William Walton, composed for the 70th anniversary of Johannesburg in 1956.
William Walton's music for the 1944 film Henry V has been arranged by several musicians for non-cinematic performances. The first suite was arranged in 1945 by the conductor Malcolm Sargent. In 1963 Muir Mathieson, who had conducted the music for the original film soundtrack, arranged a longer suite, and in 1988 the musicologist Christopher Palmer constructed an hour-long "Shakespeare Scenario" using most of the music Walton composed for the film.
The Overture in D minor is a transcription made in 1923 by Sir Edward Elgar of a musical work by George Frideric Handel composed in 1717-18.
Improvisations on an Impromptu of Benjamin Britten is an orchestral piece by William Walton. It was first performed by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Josef Krips, on 14 January 1970. Its European premiere was at Benjamin Britten's Aldeburgh Festival in June of that year. The work has subsequently been recorded for commercial release.
William Walton's Partita for Orchestra is a three-movement work for large orchestra, composed for, dedicated to and first performed by the Cleveland Orchestra and its conductor George Szell. The work was composed in 1957 and premiered on 30 January 1958.
In Honour of the City of London is a 1937 cantata by William Walton for mixed chorus and orchestra. The text is by the 15th–16th-century poet William Dunbar. It was written for the Leeds Triennial Festival for which Walton had composed Belshazzar's Feast in 1931, but it failed to gain the popularity of the earlier work and is comparatively infrequently performed.
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