Kazuki Yamada Showcases Walton for his Deutsche Grammophon Debut
Music Director Kazuki Yamada and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
add a trio of works by Walton to the DG catalogue
Released on 6 March 2026, the album presents live performances of
Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 and the Coronation March Orb and Sceptre
“… the union between conductor and orchestra was inextricably bound…”
Bachtrack, reviewing a recent CBSO concert conducted by Kazuki Yamada
Internationally acclaimed conductor Kazuki Yamada took the helm of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2023. Since then, he has continued the work of such eminent predecessors as Sir Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo, Andris Nelsons and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla in taking the orchestra from strength to strength. Now Yamada is to release his debut Deutsche Grammophon album. On what is also his first recording with the CBSO, he and his players showcase three works by William Walton – Orb and Sceptre and the composer’s two symphonies, all new to the DG catalogue.
Featuring performances captured live at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, the album comes out digitally and on CD on 6 March 2026. Orb and Sceptre will be available to stream or download from 20 February.
In January 2025, Yamada’s contract with the CBSO was extended to the end of the 2028–29 season; just weeks later he was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s 2025 Conductor Award. The RPS jury hailed Yamada as a “local hero”, adding, “he’s brought finesse and effervescence to must-see concerts at Symphony Hall … He’s bringing such joy to working with CBSO’s youth orchestra, and delighting citizens in the Bullring shopping centre and even on the city’s trams!”
Speaking about his contract extension, Yamada himself said, “… it has been a true privilege to build on the special relationship I have with these talented musicians … [this] feels like a wonderful affirmation of the trust and mutual respect we’ve built.” That close bond shines through in the three performances on their Walton album. The choice of an English composer for their first recording together seemed appropriate to Yamada, and there is a particular significance attached to the opening work, Orb and Sceptre. This rousing march was written in 1953 for the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth II, the centenary of whose birth will be marked in 2026.
Walton’s First Symphony (1932–35) poses a raft of challenges to the performers, with its energy, passion and intensity. “It’s a little bit like surfing!”, says Yamada. “If you catch the waves of excitement, the piece goes well.” Written 25 years later, the Second Symphony is equally inventive, but more introspective in feel. It is of course the work of an older, more experienced composer, and its music emerged from a post-war world. As Yamada notes, “there is a feeling of peace – but is it real?”
Kazuki Yamada began his career in Japan, with leading ensembles such as the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. Victory in the 2009 Besançon International Conducting Competition brought him to global attention and led to Principal Guest Conductor appointments with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and CBSO. Having become Artistic and Music Director in Monte-Carlo in 2016, he will step down in August 2026 and assumes the role of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin the following month.
Still very active in Japan, Yamada is also Music Director and Chairman of the Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo and becomes Artistic Director (Music) at Tokyo’s Metropolitan Theatre in April 2026. In 2024, he won Japan’s Suntory Music Award, the jury stating that “his insatiable desire to win over as many audiences as possible should be a guiding principle for the survival of classical music”.
Yamada’s forthcoming schedule includes Pelléas et Mélisande at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (22‑28 February 2026); concerts in the UK with the CBSO and soloists Steven Osborne (4 March), DG artist Bruce Liu (5 March) and Nelson Goerner (9 April); works by Song Aa Park, Lalo and Debussy with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse (18 April); a Berlin Philharmonie concert with the DSO Berlin and DG artist Seong-Jin Cho (26 April); and his inaugural appearance as Artistic Director at Tokyo’s Metropolitan Theatre (10 May).
