The BBC Symphony Orchestra: Discovering George Walker

Music by the late great African American composer, conducted by Alpesh Chauhan. Two sinfonias, a cello concerto and the Mass with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and soloists. Plus his single best-known work – the beautiful Lyric for Strings.

George Walker died in 2018 at the age of 96. He was a modernist of formidable intellectual and imaginative power; a true American individualist, who followed no artistic agenda but his own – and in doing so, created music of urgent and uncompromising integrity. “I try to write something I'm going to be able to live with, and hope that others will begin to find some of the things that I feel have given certain strength to the music” said George Walker. “I don't really believe in creating something that doesn't have any strength”.

Walker didn’t go in for elaborate titles. “Things that are overly embellished, or that are too rich, just don’t suit my temperament” he said. His Movements (a cello concerto), his concise but deeply-felt Mass and his late masterpiece – the Sinfonia No.5 – are music that speaks directly to our times, impassioned, unsparing and unambiguously sincere.

Recorded at the Barbican Concert Hall, London, on 26 November as part of the BBC Symphony Orchestra's "Total Immersion: Discovering George Walker".
Presented by Linton Stephens.

George Walker: Sinfonia No. 2 [UK premiere]
George Walker: Lyric for Strings
George Walker Movements for Cello and Orchestra [UK premiere]

8.20pm Interval: Chamber music and songs by George Walker performed by Guildhall Musicians, with readings from Walker's autobiography 'Reminiscences of an American Composer and Pianist' read by Jeremy Mitchell.

George Walker: Spektra: Antonia Huang (piano)
George Walker: Hey Nonny No*
George Walker: A Red, Red Rose +
George Walker: In Time of Silver Rain**
George Walker: I Got A Letter from Jesus+
Jacob Dyksterhouse* (bass baritone), Manon Ogwen Parry+ (soprano), Bethan Terry (soprano)** Lucy Colquhoun (piano)**, Hugh Rowlands (piano)

8.40pm
George Walker Sinfonia No. 5, ‘Visions’
George Walker: Mass for Soloists, Chorus, and Orchestra [UK premiere]

Laura van der Heijden (cello)
April Koyejo-Audiger (soprano)
Zoe Drummond (soprano)
Georgia Mae Bishop (mezzo-soprano)
Jess Gillingwater (mezzo-soprano)
Joshua Stewart (tenor)
Florian Panzieri (tenor)
Henry Waddington (bass)
Frazer Scott (bass)
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Alpesh Chauhan (conductor)