Mark Bebbington on Vaughan Williams and the piano
Friday, December 9, 2022
A collection of Ralph Vaughan Williams rarities to end the 150th anniversary year of the composer's birth
The pianist Mark Bebbington continues his invaluable service to British music with a new album for Resonus that gathers together four rarities from Vaughan Williams's output, ranging from the Piano Quintet of 1903 to the Fantasia on the 'Old 104th' Psalm Tune of 1949.
Joined by members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for three of the works, and by the entire orchestra plus the City of London Choir and conductor Hilary Davan Wetton for the Fantasia, this album fills in some major gaps in the VW recorded catalogue.
James Jolly caught up with the pianist to talk through the album's four works.
You can listen to the Podcast above. To hear other Gramophone podcasts, or to subscribe for free to new editions, search for 'Gramophone' in your Podcast App of choice, or visit Gramophone's page on Apple Music podcasts. You can also listen to the Resonus album in lossless sound, via Apple Music, here: