{"id":2405,"date":"2025-11-27T17:58:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/?p=2405"},"modified":"2025-11-27T17:58:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:58:59","slug":"vaughan-williams-symphonies-5-9-from-lso-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/?p=2405","title":{"rendered":"VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Symphonies 5 &#038; 9 from LSO Live"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/?attachment_id=2388\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2388\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-2388\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RVW-300x300.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RVW-300x300.webp 300w, http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RVW-1024x1024.webp 1024w, http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RVW-150x150.webp 150w, http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RVW-768x768.webp 768w, http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RVW.webp 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano\/LSO Live <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The opening instalment in Sir Antonio Pappano\u2019s projected Vaughan Williams symphony cycle with the London Symphony Orchestra was a coupling of the composer\u2019s Symphonies 4 and 6 that appeared in 2021 and garnered widespread critical praise for the conductor\u2019s thrilling and insightful interpretations of these two works. Four years on, this latest issue couples one of the composer\u2019s most performed symphonies \u2013 the 5<sup>th<\/sup> premiered in 1943 during World War II \u2013 with the 9<sup>th <\/sup>regarded by some as \u201ca tough nut to crack\u201d. Pappano\u2019s powerful and totally committed account of the latter recorded live at the Barbican on 15<sup>th<\/sup> December 2024 will surely go a long way to convince naysayers that the 84 year old composer had lost any of his inspiration and orchestral mastery. One important feature of the piece is its innovative scoring that includes a flugelhorn, three saxophones and a large percussion section (snare drum, tenor drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tam-tam, deep bells, glockenspiel, xylophone and celesta) used with restraint. Pappano and the LSO pull no punches in delivering this often enigmatic symphony. His purposeful conducting and assured playing from the orchestra, attuned to both the subtle tonal palette and granite like architecture of the piece, ensure the work\u2019s elusive blend of austerity and radiance is delivered with absolute conviction. The Fifth Symphony, drawn from performances on 12 and 14 April 2024, receives a reading of luminous poise and spiritual depth. Pappano stands comfortably in the lineage of such distinguished interpreters as Boult, Previn, and Hickox, matching their authority while bringing a fresh sense of refinement and transparency. Tempi throughout are judiciously chosen, and the orchestra\u2019s glowing tone and finely balanced textures are superbly caught by the Classic Sound team on this SACD in a fine DSD256fs recording. As with recent LSO Live issues, the presentation is exemplary: the disc is housed in a sturdy book-style package complete with full liner notes and artist biographies. This is a release of distinction and a firm recommendation for both seasoned Vaughan Williams admirers and newcomers alike. I look forward to the next release in this cycle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano\/LSO Live The opening instalment in Sir Antonio Pappano\u2019s projected Vaughan Williams symphony cycle with the London Symphony Orchestra was a coupling of the composer\u2019s Symphonies 4 and 6 that appeared in 2021 and garnered widespread &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/?p=2405\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2405"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2406,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405\/revisions\/2406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}