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Features:
Box set
Editorial Review:
Needless to report, Adrian Boult's credentials in this repertoire are unassailable, and to have nearly all of his stereo Vaughan Williams recordings for EMI so elegantly packaged and enticingly priced will be incentive enough for many a prospective purchaser. There is much to treasure here, not least those gently perceptive accounts of the first three symphonies, as well as the fifth and the ninth. All the same, the fires burned more brightly on Boult's earlier mono cycle for Decca (Symphonies 1-8 are still available within an unmissable super-budget Belart box) and there is some oddly listless orchestral playing to contend with in both the Sinfonia Antartica and the eighth especially. The fourth and sixth, too, find the New Philharmonia on less than ideally tidy form. The disc of shorter orchestral items and the gorgeous Serenade to Music offers mostly unbridled pleasure (with Hugh Bean a memorably serene soloist in The Lark Ascending), as does Boult's fourth and final recording of Job, though here, too, tension levels are markedly lower than on either of his mono versions (try hearing Boult's 1954 LPO version). No matter, for all its ups and downs, the present anthology undoubtedly offers fine value for money. ----Andrew Achenbach
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
PROBABLY THE BEST ALL-ROUND SET OF VW SYMPHONIES The VW symphonies have done remarkably well on disc. Complete cycles by Previn, Haitink and Tod Handley all make substantial claims. Individual symphonies from Richard Hickox, Andrew Davis, Vaughan Williams himself and, of course, 'Glorious John' Barbirolli (as VW christened him) also demand attention. But, if you're looking for a complete overview of the Vaughan Williams symphonic canon (plus quite a lot of substantial extras) then this Boult set is probably still the best all-round recommendation.more info
Boult's final tributes to Vaughan Williams "You got the score right into you and through you into the orchestra."
So wrote Vaughan Williams to the thirty year old conductor Adrian Boult in 1918 after a performance of A London Symphony. Subsequently Boult conducted and championed Vaughan Williams' works constantly. Many times he recorded and premiered them. This slim-line box, containing all the symphonies and many other items, all recorded in stereo and mostly in the warm Kingsway Hall acoustic between 1967 and 1975, ought therefore to be... more info
All his great symphonies - and more! The advantage of complete boxed sets is the ability to listen to a completely consistent set of works. This particular offering contains recordings of sessions conducted entireby by Sir Adrian Boult, a great friend and colleague of RVW, and the respect shown between the two of them is apparent from the very start.
As a bonus, there are several of RVW's other orchestral works in this collection, including a breathtaking version of The Lark Ascending, and also the deep and unusual Job (A Masque for... more info
Tracks:
I: A Song For All Seas, All Ships - London Philharmonic Choir
II: On The Beach At Night, Alone - London Philharmonic Choir
III: Scherzo: The Waves - London Philharmonic Choir
IV: The Explorers - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Symphony (Symphony No.1) - London Philharmonic Choir
Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis - London Philharmonic Orchestra
