Walton & Barber Violin Concertos

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Thomas Bowes - violin; Malmö Opera Orchestra; Joseph Swensen - conductor; William Walton (1902-1983); Samuel Barber (1910-1981); ©2023 Navona Records

Navona Records: “WALTON & BARBER from famed British violinist Thomas Bowes celebrates the works of two early 20th century composers, William Walton and Samuel Barber. The album includes Walton’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and Two Pieces for Strings from Henry V, as well as Barber’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra op. 14 and the touchstone Adagio for Strings op. 11. Throughout the album, Bowes’ breathtaking virtuosity is on full display. His playing, which has been characterized by Gramophone Magazine as “deeply human” and “unusually communicative,” teases out subtleties and rises to the challenge of the most technically-demanding passages. With the violin at centerstage, WALTON & BARBER brings the full power of the orchestra to bear.”

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“The Inside Story: Thomas Bowes and WALTON & BARBER”: Navona Records interviews Tom in conjunction with the album release, shedding light on his musical background, his mentors and musical inspirations, and his love of cricket.

“A masterly account … with Bowes essaying flickering rhapsodic moments, assailed by striking orchestral flourishes” – The Independent

“Bowes yields to none of the Walton’s great interpreters – Heifetz (the dedicatee), Menuhin, Franccscatti, Chung, Kennedy – in his dazzling passage work … with his gorgeous portamento and rubato” – Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times

“What is so remarkable about Bowes as a soloist is not just his technical assurance, his flawless intonation over the widest range, tonal and dynamic, but his natural feeling for warmly romantic expressiveness … Altogether a resounding success” – Edward Greenfield, Gramophone Magazine

“Thomas Bowes: sensitive, refined, thoughtful, elegant, as well as brilliant, even flamboyant… captures every aspect of this concerto almost to perfection... He yields to no-one in terms of sensitivity and technical mastery.” - Piers Burton-Page, BBC Radio 3

“The Barber is one of my favourite concertos… and Bowes plays with a wispy elegance… The second movement is gorgeous, and here has both vulnerability and inner steel. The finale is just a roast from beginning to end, Bowes flying at a million miles an hour and Swensen and the orchestra going along for the ride. It’s pretty thrilling.” - Bernard Hughes, The Arts Desk