William Walton - Five Bagatelles
for Piano Solo
Originally composed for guitar, Walton’s Five Bagatelles were written for Julian Bream and dedicated to Malcolm Arnold ‘with admiration and affection for his 50th birthday’. They were given their first performance by Julian Bream on 27th May 1972 at Bath. In 1975-6, Walton orchestrated the Bagatelles into a suite, the Varii Capriccii, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Royal Festival Hall, London.
This arrangement for solo piano combines the guitar and orchestral versions to make a new suite for piano. It is in the same spirit as Christopher Palmer’s piano arrangement of the guitar accompaniment to Walton’s song cycle Anon in Love. They make an ideal addition to Walton’s slender output for piano, ranging from technical simplicity to exuberant virtuosity.
Listen to a performance of the arrangement here:
1. Allegro assai (3'28)
2. Lento sognando (3'11)
3. Alla Cubana (2'20)
4. Lento (2'10)
5. Presto con slancio (2'06)
for Piano Solo
Originally composed for guitar, Walton’s Five Bagatelles were written for Julian Bream and dedicated to Malcolm Arnold ‘with admiration and affection for his 50th birthday’. They were given their first performance by Julian Bream on 27th May 1972 at Bath. In 1975-6, Walton orchestrated the Bagatelles into a suite, the Varii Capriccii, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Royal Festival Hall, London.
This arrangement for solo piano combines the guitar and orchestral versions to make a new suite for piano. It is in the same spirit as Christopher Palmer’s piano arrangement of the guitar accompaniment to Walton’s song cycle Anon in Love. They make an ideal addition to Walton’s slender output for piano, ranging from technical simplicity to exuberant virtuosity.
Listen to a performance of the arrangement here:
1. Allegro assai (3'28)
2. Lento sognando (3'11)
3. Alla Cubana (2'20)
4. Lento (2'10)
5. Presto con slancio (2'06)