BBCSO/Gardner – review

Barbican, LondonAccording to the composer William Walton, when his Biblical oratorio Belshazzar's Feast was being prepared for its premiere in 1931, the conductor, Thomas Beecham, advised him to throw in a couple of brass bands, "as you'll never hear the thing again". Walton followed the advice, but even so, the piece confounded Beecham's expectations. Despite its mammoth forces, which at this performance spilled out beyond the platform, it has found a permanent place in the repertoire.Under con...

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