Vaughan Williams: The symphonies

[EdgeleyRob]

Did anyone hear the extract from 2 on Record Review yesterday? I thought it sounded wonderful, I can feel an investment coming on (having been lucky enough to be at the wonderful 'three symphony' Manze Prom which was unforgettable)

It's a winner,can't stop playing it.

RLPO on top form,stunning sound,every detail so clear,nice artwork,notes by Lewis Foreman.
Augurs well for the complete cycle,but we'll have to wait until Spring 2019 to pass judgement

Try the Finale of No 8 here http://onyxclassics.com/cddetail.php...X4155#excerpts

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

They are on the Bakels (Naxos) recording Alpie.
5 extra tracks at the end of the cd,read by David Timson,so they can be programmed to be included in the Symphony.

Ah, thanks for that info, ER. It doesn't make much sense to include them in the symphony, as movements 3 & 4 are supposed to be played without a break.

[seabright]

... but also spoken texts from Sir Ralph Richardson! The composer did not intend the superscriptions to be spoken and no recent recording has used a narrator. Sorry, but this rules it out for me (I'm happy with Hasitink anyway)

There's a 1993 Koch Classics CD on which the Indianapolis Symphony is conducted by Raymond Leppard. The CD's title is simply "Antarctica" and consists of a very well-played and recorded RVW7 that is completely ruined by a narrator whose contributions have nothing to do with the printed score. Its superscriptions are mixed into the actual music, along with assorted quotations throughout from Captain Scott's journals. This was evidently Leppard's own idea, so what we get is this narrator popping up every few minutes while the orchestra either holds onto a note for an eternity or just stops playing altogether. The narrator then delivers yet another lengthy passage from the journals but as these aren't separately tracked, one can't just play the music on its own. This is a pity, as it would have been interesting to have the first American recording of RVW7 as the intended symphony and not as a story-with-musical-accompaniment. My guess is it was done that way in concert first and then simply recorded in the studio without them realising the whole concept would ruin repeated listening. Koss ought to reissue this with the narrator completely edited out. The filler by the way is the "Tallis Fantasia."

[ardcarp]

Sounds ghastly. But on the other hand, if it's a way of introducing the piece to a new non-specialist audience........

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Sounds ghastly. But on the other hand, if it's a way of introducing the piece to a new non-specialist audience........

Show them Scott of the Antarctic?

[ardcarp]

True....

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

True....

The film would take longer - and might be a little "quaint" for some modern audiences, perhaps. Maybe the "voiceover" version might work better with extracts from the film score, rather than the symphony? In the way that Walton's Henry V film score has been "concertized" for actor and orchestra with some success?

[seabright]

Apropos the "Antartica" ... 'CRQ Editions' has just released the New York premiere of the work (13 April 1970) played in Carnegie Hall by the American Symphony under Ainslee Cox, Stokowski's assistant conductor at the time. It had a glowing review from one of the New York critics and can be sampled on You Tube ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV-cVHuUp3w

The 'CRQ Editions' website gives full details and describes it as "a reading of great power" ...

http://crqeditions.co.uk/crqeditions.php

[EdgeleyRob]

Apropos the "Antartica" ... 'CRQ Editions' has just released the New York premiere of the work (13 April 1970) played in Carnegie Hall by the American Symphony under Ainslee Cox, Stokowski's assistant conductor at the time. It had a glowing review from one of the New York critics and can be sampled on You Tube ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV-cVHuUp3w

The 'CRQ Editions' website gives full details and describes it as "a reading of great power" ...

http://crqeditions.co.uk/crqeditions.php

Thank you for this Seabright

[BBMmk2]

Apropos the "Antartica" ... 'CRQ Editions' has just released the New York premiere of the work (13 April 1970) played in Carnegie Hall by the American Symphony under Ainslee Cox, Stokowski's assistant conductor at the time. It had a glowing review from one of the New York critics and can be sampled on You Tube ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV-cVHuUp3w

The 'CRQ Editions' website gives full details and describes it as "a reading of great power" ...

http://crqeditions.co.uk/crqeditions.php

That sounds like a good watch! :)

[richardfinegold]

Apropos the "Antartica" ... 'CRQ Editions' has just released the New York premiere of the work (13 April 1970) played in Carnegie Hall by the American Symphony under Ainslee Cox, Stokowski's assistant conductor at the time. It had a glowing review from one of the New York critics and can be sampled on You Tube ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV-cVHuUp3w

The 'CRQ Editions' website gives full details and describes it as "a reading of great power" ...

http://crqeditions.co.uk/crqeditions.php

The American debut was in 1970? I am feeling awfully provincial right now...

[cloughie]

The American debut was in 1970? I am feeling awfully provincial right now...

What kept them?

[Pabmusic]

The American debut was in 1970? I am feeling awfully provincial right now...

No. The 1st US performance was on 2 April 1953, by the Chicago SO under Raphael Kubelik. This is the first New York performance.

[cloughie]

No. The 1st US performance was on 2 April 1953, by the Chicago SO under Raphael Kubelik. This is the first New York performance.

Interesting - did he perform much RVW? - I don't think there are any recordings.

[Pabmusic]

Interesting - did he perform much RVW? - I don't think there are any recordings.

I have a live Cologne Tallis Fantasia, but it's old.