The second release in Andrew Manze’s complete traversal of Vaughan Williams’ symphonies, is as impressive as its predecessor. Despite the name “Pastoral”, the Third was a wartime symphony. Parts were written while Vaughan Williams was stationed at Écoivres during World War I, and its elegaic, melancholy mood is directly related to that experience. Manze’s recording embraces a post-war reading of the work in one very specific way: he employs a tenor for the wordless vocalise in the final movement, rather than a soprano. The ghostly sound of a man’s voice produces an almost tangible link to the unknown soldier that came to represent the casualties of the Great War. And how deeply contemplative is Manze’s pacing of the magical orchestral passage following the tenor’s appearance? The Fourth, composed between 1931 and 1934, seems with its harsh harmonic clashes to represent the threat of war once more, but the composer indicated that his point was purely musical. This was his first symphony to follow a traditional, recognisably symphonic form, namely that of Beethoven’s Fifth. Manze treats it that way. His urgency and clarity point out the symphony’s structural coherence, helped by a fresh and open sound. Manze reveals… Continue reading Get…

Brett Weymark enjoys exploring the ripe choral masterpiece that the Countess of Albermarle pronounced "disgusting".

Missing in Action no more: Albion Records restores a fistful of revelatory scores by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

English masterpieces by Elgar and Vaughan Williams in superbly played programme.

Wonderfully played and conducted; the Bergen musicians prove this music is not the sole preserve of the Brits.

Gorgeous warm sound, interpretations and playing.

Vaughan Williams at his earthiest, and masterpieces by Bach, Elgar and Mendelssohn are on the bill for 2017. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

★★★★☆ Brett Weymark’s foam-flecked Vaughan Williams conquers the high seas. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The conductor explains why A Sea Symphony launches his soul on a passage to choral heaven. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

In our latest issue, Australia’s great educator tells us why he is still deadly serious about our musical future. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The British maestro explains his passion for MGM and why he believes his home team needs support. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

This programme has been cleverly crafted around the world premiere recording of Sir James MacMillan’s Oboe Concerto performed by its dedicatee Nicholas Daniel with the composer at the helm. It is a bold virtuosic work that should prove popular with both players and audiences. The breezy first movement, a bustling affair with the soloist goaded on to challenging passage-work by startling effects in the orchestra, contrasts starkly with the following Largo based on material from a earlier composition In Angustiis (a post-9/11 lament for solo oboe). It juxtaposes periods of keening sorrow with outbursts of rage, while stretching the expressive possibilities of the instrument just about as far as it can go. The Finale is forthright and playful, opening with a demented parody of serialist pretensions before veering off in unexpected poly-stylistic directions – although some of its jokes are a little too wacky for its own good. The disc opens with Vaughan William’s pastoral idyll with the soloist directing a performance that should serve as a top recommendation for this under-recorded gem. The Britten Sinfonia’s limpid strings conjure moments… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in