Arthur Butterworth (1923-2014) : Viola Concerto (1992)

Arthur Eckersley Butterworth, MBE (4 August 1923, New Moston – 20 November 2014, Embsay) was an English composer, conductor, trumpeter and teacher. Butterworth was born in New Moston, near Manchester. His father was secretary of the local church choir. His mother played the piano and Butterworth himself sang in the choir. For the grand entrance fee of sixpence, young Butterworth attended Hallé concerts and volunteered for the village brass band who allocated him the trombone. While still a teenager he played with the noted band at Besses o' th' Barn and started taking conducting lessons. While playing with the band, he caught his trombone in tram tracks and, discouraged by the accident, changed to the trumpet.
His works include seven symphonies, eight concertos, several other large orchestral scores and a considerable amount of 'serious' music for brass (almost totally neglected by the brass band movement). In the summer of 2008 Butterworth returned to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra to conduct a recording of his Fourth Symphony (1986) and his Concerto for viola and orchestra, Op. 82 (1988–1992) for the English viola player, Sarah-Jane Bradley. As of age 87, he was still active as a composer and an occasional conductor. He passed away in November 2014. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: Arthur Butterworth (1923-2014) (GB) Viola Concerto (1992) Viola : Peter Lale Dir : Barry Wordsworth BBC Philharmonic Orchestra 1- Con moto (12.55) 2- Adagio – Cadenza (11.50) 3- Allegro molto, quasi presto (10.42)