Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 1 "A Sea Symphony" & Serenade to Music (Live)

Album review

Ralph Vaughan Williams jokingly said of himself that he was born »with a small silver spoon in his mouth« , which made him independent of a time-consuming teaching and instrumental activity, which otherwise saps a lot of energy from a composer. As soon as he was sure of his creative vocation, he gave up the position he had taken on as organist in the London congregation of St. Barnabas after completing his studies. When Vaughan Williams died in 1958 at the age of 85, he was recognized as the most important figure between Edward Elgar and Benjamin Britten and was buried alongside Henry Purcell in Westminster Abbey, the pantheon of greats from England's past.

Vaughan Williams, who also conducted the extremely successful premiere at the Leeds Festival arranged by Stanford in 1910, worked on the Sea Symphony for almost seven years. Originally conceived as a symphonic poem - temporarily titled "The Ocean" - it marks the turning point in his oeuvre from smaller-scale works to large-scale and full-scale choral and orchestral compositions. The Serenade to Music was composed in 1938 for the “Golden” Jubilee Concert by the conductor Sir Henry Wood (1869-1944), who had made a name for himself in English musical life.

For the 150th birthday this year, Solo Musica is releasing a current recording with the MDR Symphony Orchestra and the MDR Radio Choir under the direction of chief conductor Dennis Russell Davies. © solo musica