Special offer. Walton: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Orb and Sceptre
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Kazuki Yamada
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 6th March 2026
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Gramophone Magazine, April 2026, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2026 Shortlist, Orchestral
A thrilling performance, in short, of a powerful work [No. 2] that needs to get off the shelf and into our ears more often.
Special offer. Walton: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Orb and Sceptre
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Kazuki Yamada
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 6th March 2026
-
Gramophone Magazine, April 2026, Editor's Choice
-
Gramophone Awards, 2026 Shortlist, Orchestral
A thrilling performance, in short, of a powerful work [No. 2] that needs to get off the shelf and into our ears more often.
About
On their DG debut album, Japanese conductor Kazuki Yamada and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) present three works by English composer William Walton – Orb and Sceptre and the composer’s two symphonies, all new to the DG catalogue.
The two symphonies illustrate different stages in Walton’s career, before and after World War II. Twenty-five years lie between Walton’s powerful First Symphony, premiered in 1935, and his more contemplative Second Symphony, dedicated to Georg Szell. The third piece, Orb and Sceptre march, is a commission work for the coronation of Elizabeth II, whose 100th birthday we will commemorate in 2026.
“They have a special telepathy, a sixth sense. We can feel each other in the music, even without words. It’s a real partnership, like a family. They welcomed me from the beginning, and now it’s like a love story,” says Yamada on his collaboration with the CBSO.
Contents and tracklist
- City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
- Kazuki Yamada
- Recorded: 2024-12-04
- Recording Venue: Symphony Hall, Birmingham
- City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
- Kazuki Yamada
- Recorded: 2025-11-06
- Recording Venue: Symphony Hall, Birmingham
- City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
- Kazuki Yamada
- Recorded: 2024-12-04
- Recording Venue: Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Spotlight on this release
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Kazuki Yamada on Walton
19th Mar 2026
The Japanese conductor discusses his recent recording of the symphonies with the CBSO, settling into life in Birmingham, his first brush with English music as a high-school student, and inspirational visits to Ischia, Malvern and Aldeburgh.
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Walton from the CBSO and Kazuki Yamada
6th Mar 2026
Kazuki Yamada leads the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in rhythmically taut accounts of Walton's symphonies, demonstrating his firm understanding and love of the music, and the deep bond he has built with the masterful players of one of the UK's finest orchestras, captured live in superb sound by Deutsche Grammophon.
Awards and reviews
-
Presto Recording of the Week6th March 2026
-
Gramophone MagazineApril 2026Editor's Choice
May 2026
A thrilling performance, in short, of a powerful work [No. 2] that needs to get off the shelf and into our ears more often.
April 2026
Orb and Sceptre makes a cracking curtain-raiser...the Second Symphony represents another unbridled success, the CBSO sounding excitingly up for the task in a reading of tangible conviction and splendid impetus.
6th March 2026
Yamada leads the CBSO in exploring the depths of each twist of this symphony whilst maintaining overarching cohesion, in a reminder of why this work was so rapturously received on that night at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, when Harty finally got to conduct the full premiere… This is a top-drawer showing, and makes an utterly convincing case for the music of one of Britain's most skilful and wide-ranging composers.
