Vaughan Williams Symphony No 4; Violin Concerto
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Ralph Vaughan Williams
Label: Chandos
Magazine Review Date: 1/1989
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 50
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CHAN8633
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Symphony No. 4 |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor London Symphony Orchestra Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
| Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, 'Concerto accad |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor Kenneth Sillito, Violin London Symphony Orchestra Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
Composer or Director: Ralph Vaughan Williams
Label: Chandos
Magazine Review Date: 1/1989
Media Format: Vinyl
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: ABRD1322
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Symphony No. 4 |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor London Symphony Orchestra Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
| Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, 'Concerto accad |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor Kenneth Sillito, Violin London Symphony Orchestra Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
Composer or Director: Ralph Vaughan Williams
Label: Chandos
Magazine Review Date: 1/1989
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: ABTD1322
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Symphony No. 4 |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor London Symphony Orchestra Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
| Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, 'Concerto accad |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Bryden Thomson, Conductor Kenneth Sillito, Violin London Symphony Orchestra Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
Author:
This is the best so far issued of the Bryden Thomson cycle of the Vaughan Williams symphonies. As an interpretation, I prefer it to either Previn on RCA or Boult on EMI (the composer's own and Mitropoulos's recordings are, in a sense hors concours). I don't believe Sir Adrian was ever convinced that this symphony was not about the European situation in the mid 1930s, whereas Thomson approaches the work as what it really is: a magnificent piece of symphonic argument exuberant, full of rumbustious humour and spiced with exquisite passages of lyricism and reflection. It has absolutely nothing to do with Adolf Hitler and everything to do with RVW.
It is the best-played performance on record with the LSO at their very finest, the strings both strong and sweet, brass round and sonorous and superb woodwind. Also, a splendid timpanist. In the first movement there is beautiful playing in the passage which starts at fig. 17. The recording is first rate, too. The duet for oboe and clarinet in the slow movement is ideally balanced, as are the violins and violas at four bars before fig. 10, where the composer's dynamics are scrupulously followed. Thomson's tempos are well judged and he builds up the tension well in the finale.
The other work on the disc is the Violin Concerto, which is gaining in popularity at long last. In it, the neo-baroque lark ascends, eventually coming to earth in a clump of flos campi. The gem is the slow movement and, for all its 'back-to Bach' gestures, the whole work is typical of its composer. Kenneth Sillito plays it admirably though my preference is still for Bradley Creswick's performance on EMI with Hickox.MK
It is the best-played performance on record with the LSO at their very finest, the strings both strong and sweet, brass round and sonorous and superb woodwind. Also, a splendid timpanist. In the first movement there is beautiful playing in the passage which starts at fig. 17. The recording is first rate, too. The duet for oboe and clarinet in the slow movement is ideally balanced, as are the violins and violas at four bars before fig. 10, where the composer's dynamics are scrupulously followed. Thomson's tempos are well judged and he builds up the tension well in the finale.
The other work on the disc is the Violin Concerto, which is gaining in popularity at long last. In it, the neo-baroque lark ascends, eventually coming to earth in a clump of flos campi. The gem is the slow movement and, for all its 'back-to Bach' gestures, the whole work is typical of its composer. Kenneth Sillito plays it admirably though my preference is still for Bradley Creswick's performance on EMI with Hickox.
Vaughan Williams Symphony No 4; Violin Concerto
Vaughan Williams Symphony No 4; Violin Concerto
Vaughan Williams Symphony No 4; Violin Concerto
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