I must say I am not totally aware of the timeline of history. But I clearly remember a concert in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw (for me the most beautiful concert hall, who will contradict me?) where Façade of Walton was performed. Now is Façade one of the strangest pieces in musical history, a landmark like Beethoven 9, Mahler 5, Strawinsky’s Sacre. It is highly original, poetry set to music. A kind of sing-song music, but with wonderful effects. True, he was not the first to write in that manner, for example Schönbergs Pierrot Lunaire or Parade from  Satie are earlier examples. But not in this witty, catchy way. It was written by a young man, only 20 years of age! Now that is something remarkable.

 

But let’s not forget, why was this performance so remarkable that I can still remember it? because there was Lady Susanna Walton. Unfortunately the master himself must have passed away only a few years earlier, there was the Argentinian beauty. How can I say that of a Lady that must have been  in her sixties? She was marvellous, the best ambassador of his music, lively, vibrant. A performance to memorize!

Though I want to move on towards his 1st symphony some examples of Façade