Ralph Vaughan Williams

[drogulus]

  BTW, RVW is one of my faves, too--as are all the others mentioned except Finzi, of whom I've heard very little (only the Naxos disc with the cello cto).  What else might you recommend?

        Here are 2 discs you might check out. They are really collections with an outstanding assortment of works by British composers. The first one is pretty famous on this board:

       
       
        I count Dies Natalis as among the most beautiful works composed in the 20th century, but get it for Holst and VW as well. This really should be a GROC, because it actually is one. 

        Here's the 2nd one:

       
       
        Lo, The Full, Final Sacrifice is the one you should hear. But it's all good, especially RVWs Mass in G minor, though the performance isn't going to please everyone. Amazon has both discs here.
       
       

[Szykneij]

I guess that's how it would be for an anglophone (and probably how VW himself would have pronounced it). But it seems to be a Welsh name. Do the Welsh pronounce differently?

I have a feeling that the first pronunciation that I found might be the English one and the second one the Welsh. 

I found it very strange that it should be a Welsh name. Just looking at it brings greek roots to mind.

Ah well, no matter anyway. I decided to shelve "Rhosymedre" until Fall and perform Verdi's "Grand March from Aida" in the Spring instead. That one I can pronounce! Thanks for your help, though.

[Lethe]

Shame to lose this big old thread - thought it best that I post this here. From Wikipedia:

"With the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra [Gennady Rozhdestvensky] recorded all the symphonies of Shostakovich, Glazunov, Bruckner, Schnittke, Honegger, and Vaughan Williams."

Has anyone here heard any of these? I must admit that I am a little tired of hearing Anglophone takes on the works...

[PefectWagnerite]

Shame to lose this big old thread - thought it best that I post this here. From Wikipedia:

"With the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra [Gennady Rozhdestvensky] recorded all the symphonies of Shostakovich, Glazunov, Bruckner, Schnittke, Honegger, and Vaughan Williams."

Has anyone here heard any of these? I must admit that I am a little tired of hearing Anglophone takes on the works...

I have heard some of the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra [Gennady Rozhdestvensky] playing Bruckner (you can get them at BRO under the Russian Revelations label for about $3 or $4 per disc). There is nothing shocking other than the fact that the horns often couldn't play in tune and the only dynamics they observe are mezzo-forte, or the fact that the trumpets are pretty shrill. Other than that you pretty much get your garden-variety Bruckner. Don't know about the other composers, I have some DSCH recordings with the same group that I haven't gotten to yet.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Truly, the brass can be a bitter pill in most of the historic Russian recordings.  And how can one's ears 'overlook' that awful tone, when it is the dominant feature of so many climactic moments?

[PefectWagnerite]

Truly, the brass can be a bitter pill in most of the historic Russian recordings.  And how can one's ears 'overlook' that awful tone, when it is the dominant feature of so many climactic moments?

Except a lot of these Russian Revelation recordings are made in the 1980's, which makes them not only un-historic but un-historical as well.