Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 2 & 8 (Vol. 1)

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra,Andrew Manze

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 2 & 8 (Vol. 1)
Format
Audio
Publisher
Country
Published
29 April 2016
ISBN
0880040415527

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 2 & 8 (Vol. 1)

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra,Andrew Manze

Andrew Manze has established himself as one of the leading interpreters of Vaughan Williams Symphonies. His 2012 BBC Proms performances drew critical acclaim, and were highlights of that season’s Proms. ONYX Classics will release one volume a year, completing the cycle in the spring of 2019 with Symphonies 7&9.

It was RWV’s friend and fellow composer George Butterworth who in 1912 suggested he write a purely orchestral symphony. RVW told him he had absolutely no plans to do so, but Butterworth was a very perceptive friend and colleague, and the premiere took place in 1914. Called ‘A London Symphony’ (RVW considered himself a Londoner), RVW thought a better title would be ‘A Symphony by a Londoner’. On New Year’s Eve that year RVW joined the army and went to the trenches in France. Butterworth would be killed by a sniper at the Somme in 1916. The 8th Symphony of 1955 is a tightly written, brilliant and innovative work that shows RVW’s creativity at full stretch. Although outwardly a sunny work, shadows of the 6th and 7th symphonies lurk in the background at points throughout this brilliant symphony.

Next in the RVW Symphony cycle from Andrew Manze and the RLPO will be Symphonies 3 & 4 [ONYX4161] to be released in March 2017.

Track listing:

 

Symphony No. 2 ‘A London Symphony’

Symphony No. 8 in D minor

 

Review

With a quiet intake of breath, the opening notes of Vaughan Williams’ London Symphony creep into your awareness, painting a picture so clearly you can describe the colours of a morning in London at the beginning of the 20th Century. For those who love the BBC and their period dramas, this Symphony will be instantly recognisable as a world lost to us but always reachable – this work personifies what is to be English. Four movements long, it still manages to feel short, and as I finished listening I immediately went back to the beginning to see what I missed the first time through.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Andrew Manze, bring the music to life in an almost three-dimensional manner. And it’s when they move onto the Symphony No. 8 that Vaughan Williams not only proves that he can compose programmatic music, but also shows off his ability in orchestral colours and contrasts while keeping to the ideals of pure orchestral music. Meanwhile, the orchestra itself almost seems to kick into another gear, particularly in the Scherzo movement of the 8th. The tightness in ensemble over the sparkling passages is a delight to listen to.

After my second time through, I realised that the true worth of this recording is that you can listen to it twice, three times or more, and still be entranced both by what you heard the first time and the things you missed. The colour shadings through this album paint a multicoloured picture of this world, so simple, and yet complicated in its own way. An absolute delight to discover these works.


Kate Rockstrom

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