There’s a theme of composers looking backwards running through this appealing, slightly melancholy programme from the British cellist Jamie Walton and the Royal Philharmonic. Glazunov’s Concerto Ballata was composed in 1931, but could almost be something by Elgar from 20 years earlier. Walton makes a good case for it, using a lightish, sweeping tone that means that the long, rhapsodic melodies don’t get too bogged down, and that the sudden jauntiness at the end does not jar too much next to the autumnal feel that dominates the rest of the work. Prokofiev’s late Concertino Op 132 was inspired by his friendship with the young Rostropovich, who helped finish it after the composer’s death; here Walton excels in the lyrical slow movement, where he finds newly intense tone. Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations are given in the composer’s original version, and Walton’s poised playing suits them well. Under Okko Kamu, the orchestra is neat and sympathetic, if a little faceless.
