Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 4 & 6
Our Price: $14.95
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.19 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Composer: Ralph Vaughan WilliamsConductor: Adrian Boult
Orchestra: New Philharmonia Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2000-11-14
Music Label: EMI Classics Imports
Free Music Notes for Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 4 & 6
Free Music Review: Superb Sixth, but can't match the composer's 1937 Fourth
Hit: 4 Stars
The Fourth and Sixth Symphonies of Vaughan Williams obviously share a good deal of the same emotional traits, but I find the Sixth more enjoyable---its coloring and musical design more to my liking. I have commented before on the Fourth ( See two of my recent reviews of recordings by Haitink and the composer. ) While I consider Boult's interpretation to be a pretty good one, I'm afraid I have been spoiled by the composer's own mono reading from 1937. It is absolutely scorching. I want to move then to the Sixth, but first, a few comments about that work in general. I could imagine some listeners finding it difficult initially making a connection with this somewhat arcane but spellbinding symphony. Further, seeking written explanations in an effort to render it programmatically comprehensible is probably fruitless. The best or perhaps only sensible thing to do is simply listen. Boult's performance is about the best place to start. For me, at least, it reveals more than the accounts of Previn, Handley, Thomson or Andrew Davis. Right from the start, Boult demonstrates a take charge attitude that doesn't quit. It is reflected in his bold rhythms and incisive accents during the opening movement. His way with the cynical, intensely charged third movement scherzo sparkles with an almost iridescent quality. And he is virtually ideal in setting the mood for the curious second movement moderato, and portraying the sense of eerieness and loneliness characteristic of the mesmerizing epilogue. For a conception that's a bit more somber, I would recommend Andrew Davis with the BBC Symphony. However, though well recorded, the sound on his Teldec disc is set at a lower volume level. By contrast, Boult's EMI recording tends to emphasize a brighter, slightly brassier sound. Also, Davis' approach intermittently scores on tautness, while Boult gains points with his slightly more open, free-wheeling interpretation. Overall, I find him decidedly more convincing. Along with the First ( "Sea" Symphony ) and Seventh ( Sinfonia Antartica ) this Sixth might be the finest contribution in his traversal of the Vaughan Williams Symphonies.
Classical Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Must Have 20th C Classical Masterpieces
The Music Of Joseph Schwantner / Slatkin, Glennie, National SO, et alRelease date: 1997-09-16; Music CD
Best price: $6.90
Price in other shops:
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 4 & 6Release date: 2000-11-14; Music CD
Best price: $14.95
Igor Stravinsky: Symphony in C / Symphony in Three Movements (Symphonie In Drei Satzen)Release date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $44.50
Tschaikowsky and Prokofiev:KlavierkonzerteRelease date: 1984-12-20; Music CD
Best price: $12.76
Price in other shops:
Sibelius: Symphony No. 6; Pelleas & MelisandeRelease date: 1993-04-19; Music CD
Best price: $13.19
Price in other shops:
![Chopin: Piano Sonata No.2; Ravel: Gaspard De La Nuit; Prokoviev: Piano Sonata no. 6 [Germany] Image](/images/Chopin-Piano-Sonata-No-2-Ravel-Gaspard-De-La-Nuit-Prokoviev-Piano-Sonata-no-6-Germany-B00006L76R-X.jpg)
Chopin: Piano Sonata No.2; Ravel: Gaspard De La Nuit; Prokoviev: Piano Sonata no. 6 [Germany]Release date: 2002-10-23; Music CD
Best price: $9.62
Price in other shops:
Nordgren: Symphonies 3 & 5Release date: 2000-02-22; Music CD
Best price: $14.30
Price in other shops:
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8Release date: 2000-08-08; Music CD
Best price: $8.08
Price in other shops:
Sergey Prokofiev: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 44 / Symphony No. 4 in C major, Op. 47 (Original 1930 Version) - Neeme J?rviRelease date: 1992-10-28; Music CD
Best price: $12.63
Price in other shops:
Bart?k: The Miraculous Mandarin; Hungarian Sketches: Suite No. 1Release date: 1997-10-14; Music CD
Best price: $12.08
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music; The Lark Ascending; Fantasia on Greensleeves; English Folk Song Suite; In the Fen Country; Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1Release date: 1991-10-11; Music CD
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops:
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5Release date: 1991-09-12; Music CD
Best price: $7.68
Price in other shops: