The inspired Dutch cellist Peter Wispelwey here couples the Walton Cello Concerto with a sequence of works for unaccompanied cello. As one would expect, his playing is flawless, though in the Walton the fast passages like the central Scherzo are more successful in their brilliance than the slow ruminative ones, which tend to meander a little without focusing quite as they should. The Scherzo is tautly held together with the soloist luxuriating in the brief expansive moments, while the final Passacaglia, much the longest movement, is also a success, no mean feat when the broad reflectiveness predominates, set in contrast with only two brief fast variations.

Nevertheless it is a fine reading which adds to an impressive list of versions, and the coupling is unique. There the problem may be that such a sequence of solo cello music tends to lack contrast, sharply distinctive as each of the composers are. The Bloch Suite in four movements finds Wispelwey, as in the Walton, most successful in the fast, brilliant movements, closing with a jolly dance in triple time.

The two movements of the Ligeti are more distinctive, while the Walton Passacaglia is the work he wrote for Rostropovich, hoping (in vain) that it would persuade him to play the Concerto. The Britten is welcome too, but still seems a little lost separated from the Suite written for Rostropovich.