Vaughan Williams's Veranda

[karlhenning]

Utterly disagree with this.

Aye, what Sarge said.

[Brahmsian]

Here's a breakdown on what I think are the best performances of each symphony:


Symphony No. 6 - Davis/BBCSO/Warner

Two thumbs up!! 

[Sergeant Rock]

I am sure that it helped that this was a historic recording, and at times smacked of Steiner's King Kong.

That's interesting. The first time I heard the Fourth I too thought of Max Steiner. The syncopated theme at the beginning of the last movement reminded me of the music depicting the cavalry in the classic Errol Flynn film The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Sarge

[vandermolen]

Can't resist lists - think that Lethe's is very good.

A Sea Symphony (Haitink - a revelation to me - brought alive a symphony I had largely ignored for c 40 years - Previn is very good here too)

A London Symphony (1913) Hickox, 1920 (Goossens), 1936 (Previn RCA)

A Pastoral Symphony (Previn, LSO, RCA)

No 4 (Berglund)

No 5 (Vaughan Williams for historical and Barbirolli's EMI version)

No 6 Boult (Decca), A. Davis (Warner)

Antartica (Boult, Decca)

No 8 (Previn, RCA)

No 9 (Stokowski, Cala, Thomson, Chandos, Slatkin, RCA)

[Sergeant Rock]

I may lean toward these earlier Boult efforts, Ray.  Any reservations I should have?

No reservations. This is the classic cycle, in sound that was spectacular for the time (1-7 are Culshaw productions) and still sounds good today, especially in the remastered Decca box. In fact, I prefer Decca's mono to EMI's stereo. It's brighter and more detailed; the special effects are tremendous (like the organ entry in the Antarctica). The Fourth and Sixth are actually stunning. Even the Sea Symphony holds its own (I was comparing it to more recent recordings this afternoon). Of course you won't confuse this with a modern recording but I don't think you'll be disappointed either.

Sarge

[Dundonnell]

I shall cheat and list some joint favourites:

Sea Symphony: LPO/Haitink

London Symphony: Halle/Barbirolli, LSO/Previn and LSO/Hickox

Pastoral Symphony: LSO/Previn and LSO/Hickox

No.4: LSO/Previn and LSO/Hickox

No.5: Philharmonia/Barbirolli, RLPO/Handley and LSO/Hickox

No.6: RLPO/Handley, LSO/Thomson, BBC SO/Davis, LSO/Hickox

Sinfonia Antarctica: LPO/Haitink

No.8: LSO/Thomson and LSO/Hickox

No.9: RLPO/Handley and LSO/Thomson

plus Boult in them all!!

[eyeresist]

Utterly disagree with this.

Sarge

That's fine   It looks like Menuhin's 5th is a dark horse worth investigating. Was this one of the recordings for RPO's house label?

[Mirror Image]

That's fine   It looks like Menuhin's 5th is a dark horse worth investigating. Was this one of the recordings for RPO's house label?

No, it was released on Virgin Classics and the 5th was coupled with Concerto for Two Pianos. I haven't heard this recording in a few years, but I remember it being very good.

[Sergeant Rock]

It looks like Menuhin's 5th is a dark horse worth investigating. Was this one of the recordings for RPO's house label?

As MI said, it's a Virgin recording from 1988:



It's a very important performance for me. For reasons I cannot fathom now, the Fifth was the only VW symphony I didn't get or like. In fact, I bought the CD for the Piano Concerto, not expecting to even listen much to the Fifth. When I heard it, though, it clicked--possibly because it's a very different interpretation from what I'd heard before. Gramophone says:

"Yehudi Menuhin's is a very personal view, quite different in many details from most others. The first movement opens at what seems to me a near ideal tempo, though still slower than the composer's marking, and at a proper mezzo forte which brings with it a simplicity of expression which is very convincing. He refuses to linger, moving forward even slightly more in places, yet the beginning of the Allegro feels very measured indeed. He is clearly concerned to maintain the tempo here as the sound of his tapping foot is clearly audible. The tempo for the recapitulation is noticeably slower than before, and uniquely he plays the "tutta forza" bars exactly in time. I find this hugely effective and satisfying. What a pity then, for this listener at least, to spoil it all by pulling back so much twelve bars later to deliver a climax to the movement which is terribly inflated. The music then subsides again into the slowest coda on record, becoming even slower at it reaches its goal....Menuhin's is a challenging interpretation, very well played and recorded, and everyone ought to hear it if they can."


Sarge

[Bogey]

Recorded 1937 and 1944

Well, rolled out the 5th today for my first ever listen to this piece, and like the 4th was immediately transported into musical bliss.  The 5th had a nice even flow to it that made the 40 minutes or so seem to evaporate.  Only when the 4th movement came around did it take a different, yet wonderful turn for me.  Imagery as below came to mind:



Absolutely beautiful.

After only two symphonies of RVW under belt, I have noticed something additionally special about his music.  Even when considering thoughts for the upcoming day or other matters, his music, while playing, does not leave me even for a moment.  Many times with others' music I find I have to relisten or attend to at a higher level of concentration.  So far, RVW's music pentrates at a deeper level letting me enjoy his music while also considering other notions.  Pretty cool stuff.

[Brahmsian]

Imagery as below came to mind:



Absolutely beautiful.

  Happy to hear, Bill.  Karl will be especially pleased at the imagery of an English composer's music to a boat. 

Keep exploring Vaughan Williams, Bill.  There is a lot of great music.  My personal revelation came with the 6th Symphony, Fantasia on a Theme by Tallis, and the Phantasy Quintet.

I love it when we here all make new discoveries!  It really is a blessing. 

[karlhenning]

  Happy to hear, Bill.  Karl will be especially pleased at the imagery of an English composer's music to a boat. 

Gotta be some Britten around here . . . .

[vandermolen]

This reissue is really good as it restores to circulation Berglund's performances of symphonies 4 and 6, both excellent, especially the slow movement of No 4 and the sibelian performance of No 6 (and for once the Epilogue is not rushed).  Also it included Gibson's underrated recording of Symphony No 5, which includes a very eloquent and moving performance of the slow movement.  Link below includes a more detailed Amazon review by me.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vaughan-Williams-Symphonies-Overture-Composers/dp/B0018OAP2U/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1312962734&sr=1-1

[vandermolen]

RCA have reissued Leonard Slatkin's underrated set of the symphonies at super bargain price.  EMI have repackaged their Boult cycle too.

[asin]B005DZIM0M[/asin][asin]B0056K4VUY[/asin]

[DavidW]

Sorry if this was already discussed... but what is the sound quality on the Slatkin cycle and what decade does it come from?

[Mirror Image]

Sorry if this was already discussed... but what is the sound quality on the Slatkin cycle and what decade does it come from?

Don't get me started on the audio quality on Slatkin's cycle. That is a powder keg ready to blow.

[TheGSMoeller]

Sorry if this was already discussed... but what is the sound quality on the Slatkin cycle and what decade does it come from?

Audible.       and from early 90s.
I love the Slatkin set, with the exception of No. 5 & 6, I feel strongly about the other symphonies performances, and they can easily be recommended.
The set contains my personal favorite recordings of No. 1, 8 & 9.

[Mirror Image]

The general problem I've experienced with Slatkin's recordings on RCA from the early 90s have been with the low-level volume. The recordings of the 5th and 6th suffer from balance problems. Strings that are barely heard and brass that overpowers everything. Just poor engineering all-around.

[DavidW]

Alright, sounding good... Handley and Slatkin will both be competing for modern sound at bargain price.  Who else is competing in that area?  And who wins performance wise overall (among the bargain sets)?

[Mirror Image]

Alright, sounding good... Handley and Slatkin will both be competing for modern sound at bargain price.  Who else is competing in that area?  And who wins performance wise overall (among the bargain sets)?

Handley easily wins for me, though I never thought much of his performance of the 5th symphony, but this is a difficult symphony to get right in my opinion, because there is so much attention that has to be placed to each movement's overall dynamic. The Handley also contains better extras like Job and Flos campi, which are two works that belong amongst RVW's masterpieces.