Search - BBC Symphony Orchestra :: Vaughan Williams: Symphony 6 / Symphony 3 "Pastoral"

The finest Pastoral Sym recording out there!

Atticus Lochlain | Somerset, PA USA | 10/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a Vaughan Williams enthusiast, this is by far the best recording of his third symphony you can buy. Aside from a pith botch by the cellos in the first movement, this 1966 recording brings to life the true english sounds that makes Ralph Vaughan Williams one of the best recognized nationalist composers in history. The string sound is full and lucious and the wind sound is delicate yet passionate. The solo efforts are uncomparible, especially the sound of the english horn. The chord progressions are beautiful and Vaughan Williams' recognizable signature on this work. Valerie Hill's voice is so pure that this is the soprano sound that listener's long for. As one of his best works, this is the symphony that is worth listening to over and over. I have yet to here a better recorded performance by any orchestra."

Better than his stereo studio recordings

R. J. Claster | Van Nuys, CA United States | 07/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These performances are live broadcasts in quite decent stereo from 1966 (3rd symphony) and 1972 (6th symphony), both with the BBC Symphony. Both of these performances have a concentration and intensity lacking in his EMI stereo recordings. The only reservations I would offer is that the trumpeter is clearly struggling in his solo in the second movement of the 3rd symphony, and there is a botched brass entry at the beginning of the third movement of the 6th symphony. However, the performances as a whole are both first class; in particular, I find Boult's performance here of the 3rd symphony (which was inspired by the composer's experiences as a battlefield medic in WWI) to be the best at conveying the the simmering tensions and aching sadness that underly its seemingly placid surface (only equalled by his 1950's mono performance, which was recorded in the presence of the composer himself). A definite recommendation for Vaughan Williams lovers."