The innovations in his musical language which now seem so logical and so truly in the mainstream of music then struck me as far-fetched." The composer and violist Paul Hindemith gave the first performance in London in October 1929, when the Sunday Times critic Ernest Newman wrote, somewhat unenthusiastically, "The composer has a grasp of musical logic, a sense of fitness and a command of craftsmanship that is very unusual in a young man." In 1960, and again in 1961, Walton - ever the perfectionist - extensively revised the work, but it has never been among his most-admired compositions.
In his biography, My Viola and I (Elek, 1974) Tertis relented: "I had not learnt to appreciate Walton's style. The composer agreed and started work on it almost immediately on completion he sent it to Tertis who, much to Walton's disappointment, rejected it.
In 1928, the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham suggested to Walton that he write a concerto for the eminent violist Lionel Tertis.
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