Superb RWV Symphony Five in Oslo.

[George J]

In my humble opinion this shows that RVW is now owned by the world rather than than being claimed by provincial Britain. A great orchestra, and a great conductor make as much sense of English music as Boult or Barbirolli did in their time, and let's face it, the modern Oslo Philharmonic is simply better than any London orchestra of the twentieth century.

To me this as gratifying as seeing the Warsaw Phil play Elgar well!

It will be grand when we can actually hear this kind of thing again in the concert hall rather than in replay.

Please enjoy.

Best wishes from George

PS: Though JS Bach and FJ Haydn are my favourite composers, I listen to a much wider range than those great composers. Great music is great music and does not need to be compared. Great is great. A class beyond comparison.

 

[gingermrkettle]

Not that surprising, Petrenko has done really good work with English music at the Liverpool Phil during his time there.

 

[camverton]

My favourite VW 5 recording is by Haitink. The slow movement in his capable hands is devoid of images of The English Idyll and and conjures up horizontal planes of delicate hues stretching to infinity. His performance elevates the symphony to a height where national identity becomes irrelevant. Marvellous stuff.

 

[alanbeeb]

Andre Previn was their music director 2002-2006, so maybe not so surprising that the Oslo Phil are good at Vaughan-Williams.

Previn's recording with LSO from late 1960s is the one for me. Or Handley/RLPO. Haitink/LPO also very good.

 

[gustavm]

Agree VW 5 is a great symphony.

RVW does sound unashamedly "English" to me (I guess because of all those references to English folksong) but I don't see that as incompatible in any way with being loved and appreciated by an international audience, as the vision is universal. There was a good programme on TV a while ago with various contributors, including Mark Elder. He regarded VW's Pastoral symphony as depicting the desolate landscape of the WW1 battlefields (VW was a stretcher-bearer during WW1) rather than the idyllic English countryside. It certainly changed my perception of it.

 

[Dozey]

If you want to further the cause of RVW I can recommend becoming a member of the RVW Society.

Your subscription goes towards subsidising world premier recordings on their Albion Records label. The two recent folk song cds are particularly fine.

 

[Barrymagrec]

If you want to further the cause of RVW I can recommend becoming a member of the RVW Society.

Your subscription goes towards subsidising world premier recordings on their Albion Records label. The two recent folk song cds are particularly fine.

I would second that. I was lucky enough a few years ago to attend the recording sessions of some little known music RVW wrote before WW1 for some Greek plays.
The disc was issued as "Beyond my Dream" and is superb.

https://rvwsociety.com/

 

[Dozey]

I happen to be a founder member of the RVW Soc by some accident or lucky chance back in 1994.

Possibly because of my fondness for the Sea Symphony and Flos Campi.