VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Symphonies Nos 5 & 9, London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano/LSO Live
Maestro Antonio Pappano’s highly impressive readings with the London Symphony Orchestra of Vaughan Williams’s fourth and sixth symphonies was an absolute winner, so it’s hardly a surprise that this follow-up disc of the fifth and final Symphonies maintains the upward trajectory of its predecessor. The London Symphony Orchestra, of course, is an aggregation famous for its interpretation of this glorious corpus of work, (in earlier decades, under Previn, a Vaughan Williams set with the orchestra was a market leader), and this new set is proving equally revelatory. The Ninth, with its unorthodox orchestration, has been sometimes a tough nut to crack, but Pappano and the LSO demonstrate that it is the perfect finale to a remarkable set of nine symphonies. Similarly, the Fifth Symphony is here dispatched with great sensitivity and drama.
BLISS: MIRACLE IN THE GORBALS, METAMORPHIC VARIATIONS, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Seal/Chandos SACD
Recordings of Sir Arthur Bliss’s colourful ballet Miracle in the Gorbals have not exactly been thick on the ground, so it is particularly encouraging to welcome this latest entry, particularly as it is couched in Chandos’ wonderfully panoramic surround sound. And if that were not enough to tempt the aficionado of British music, the coupling here is equally attractive – the premier complete recording of the composer’s inventive Metamorphic Variations, as played with understanding and energy by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Michael Seal. The disc – its individual merits apart – is a further reminder of just how much service this remarkable label has done for neglected music over the years. If you’re one of those who is yet to be convinced that Arthur Bliss is in the upper echelons of British composers, here is a disc that will persuade you.
BREAKING WAVES: GRAŻYNA BACEWITZ: GRACE WILLIAMS JOHNNA MULLER-HERMANN, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Malin Broman/BIS
As more and more recordings appear of the orchestral works of the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz, listeners are becoming persuaded of her immense skill – and, what’s more, the fact that her relative neglect has been unjust. This ambitious collection of works by female composers includes an orchestration by Marijn van Prooijen of Bacewicz’s fourth string quartet in which the transformation is truly magical. Similarly, the piece by Grace Williams is dispatched with élan. If the third composer on this disc, Johanna Muller-Hermann, cannot match the achievement of her label mates, her inclusion is fully justified.
ROBERT RUSSELL BENNETT, VERNON DUKE: VIOLIN CONCERTOS, Chloe Hanslip, violin, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton/Chandos
Elsewhere in these columns you will find a mention of the American composer/orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett in connection with his work on Lerner and Lowe’s My Fair Lady. While Bennett is best known as the most accomplished orchestrator for Broadway shows, he was also a composer of some skill,H with several symphonies to his credit. Of his own music, perhaps his best-known score is for the television documentary Victory at Sea, though that is largely credited to Richard Rodgers who supplied several of the themes – although most of the heavy lifting was done by Bennett. The latter’s violin concerto is an absolute delight – perhaps closer to lighter music in the Leroy Anderson vein than more heavyweight pieces, but delightful for all that – and, unsurprisingly, crammed with the most ear-tingling orchestration. The performance here by Chloe Hanslip finds every nuance of the music, and the piece is a sheer delight. The coupling is the work of another distinguished name in popular music, Vernon Duke, an excavation of his largely unknown violin concerto. This is perhaps a less immediately ingratiating piece but is nevertheless worthy of attention and makes the perfect coupling for Bennett’s unmissable concerto. The Chandos surround sound as impeccable as always.
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: MANTEGNA, London Mozart players et cetera, William Vann/Albion Records
The Vaughan Williams enthusiast (and our numbers grow by the week) who is not yet aware of the sterling service being provided for the composer by the Albion Records label should remedy that situation immediately. Against the odds, the company continues to produce an absolute cornucopia of Vaughan Williams’ music, mostly unfamiliar. Mantegna, subtitled ‘Hymnody and Beyond’ is an interesting mixture of choral and orchestral music utilising the composer’s music for hymns, and amid the many things to praise here, perhaps the most signal element is the variety of musical canvases provided for all the various pieces here. If you were under the impression that RVW’s hymn-based music might be lacking in colour, think again – or better yet, add this Albion music disc to your collection.