Johannesburg Festival Overture is a composition for orchestra by the English composer William Walton, commissioned to mark the seventieth anniversary of Johannesburg in 1956. It is a short, lively piece, fast-moving throughout.

Background In 1956, to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the founding of Johannesburg, the city organised a festival. Leading performers were engaged including Margot Fonteyn, the La Scala company, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), and as soloists Yehudi Menuhin, Andrés Segovia and Pierre Fournier and as conductors Sir Malcolm Sargent and Guido Cantelli."Johannesburg Festival", Basutoland News, 17 July 1956, p. 2 Among the works the LSO scheduled for its five concerts was Walton's First Symphony,Morrison, p. 130 but Ernest Fleischmann, the musical director of the festival, also wanted a new Walton piece for the opening concert. He approached the composer in January 1956 with a commission for an orchestral work. He suggested that the piece should include some African themes, and sent Walton some Bantu melodies.Lloyd, p. 229 Walton sent for recordings of African music from the African Music Society,Kennedy, p. 195 and worked on the piece at his home in Ischia from February until the end of May 1956. He incorporated the main theme from Jean Bosco Mwenda's "Masanga", which had been released on record earlier in the decade.Rycroft, David. "The Guitar Improvisations of Mwenda Jean Bosco", African Music, Vol. 2, No. 4 (1961), p. 81 Also included was a theme from Ruanda-Urundi, "Nimuze".Louw, Johan L., and Johan K. Louw. "Notes and News", African Music, Vol. 1, No. 3, 1956, p. 73

Walton described the overture to his publisher as "a non-stop gallop ... slightly crazy, hilarious and vulgar".Lloyd, p. 218 Walton's biographer Michael Kennedy calls it "a seven-minute Rossinian romp".Kennedy, Michael (1994). Notes to EMI CD set CHS 5 65003 2

First performances Sargent conducted the South African Broadcasting Corporation Symphony Orchestra on 25 September 1956 at Johannesburg City Hall in the concert that opened the festival.Kennedy, p. 295 Efrem Kurtz introduced the work to Britain in a Liverpool Philharmonic concert on 13 November 1956 at the Philharmonic Hall. Sargent conducted the first London performance, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall on 23 January 1957. The American premiere was given by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Munch on 15 March 1957.Durgin, Cyrus. "Boston Symphony Orchestra", The Boston Daily Globe, 16 March 1957, p. 10

Score The work is scored for three flutes (third doubling piccolo), two oboes, cor anglais, three clarinets in A, three bassoons (third doubling contrabassoon) – four horns in F, three trumpets in B-flat, three trombones, tuba – timpani, three or four percussion (side drum, cymbals, suspended cymbal, bass drum, xylophone, tambourine, triangle, tenor drum, maracas, rumba sticks, castanets, glockenspiel) – harp – strings.

The work is a rondo, fast-paced throughout. Its first tempo marking is presto capriccio; after a very small ritardando the tempo becomes vivacissimo, which accelerates into a prestissimo. The key is D.Howes, p. 116

Publication Oxford University Press published an 84 page study score in 1958. The score, edited by David Lloyd-Jones, is included in the William Walton Edition, in volume 14, "Overtures"."Johannesburg Festival Overture", Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 March 2024 Vilém Tauský arranged a reduced orchestra version in 1957."Johannesburg Festival Overture", Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 March 2024

Recordings The composer recorded the work with the Philharmonia Orchestra on 26 March 1957.Kennedy, p. 324 Later recordings:

OrchestraConductorRelease date New York Philharmonic Andre Kostelanetz 1961 National Youth Orchestra of New Zealand Ashley Heenan 1967 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Sir Charles Groves 1969 London Philharmonic Bryden Thomson 1991 Radio-Sinfonieorchester Basel Erich Schmid 1996 English Northern Philharmonia Paul Daniel 1996

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External links: music videos . Video duration 7m 49s. Uploader Adam Schreiber Music, 2021. . Video duration 8m 25s. Uploader EuroArtsChannel, 2021.