Vaughan Williams - Symphonies Nos.5 and 6

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Symphonies 5 & 6

Philharmonia Orchestra

Leonard Slatkin (conductor)



The Fifth Symphony shares some of its musical material with the opera The Pilgrim's Progress, and the composer dedicated it "without permission" to Sibelius. Indeed the work has something of Sibelius's nature poetry about it, as well as a solemn, almost religious quality in the slow movement. The Sixth, by contrast, is the composer's bleakest and most terrifying work, the second movement being a close relative of Holst's "Mars," from The Planets. There's actually quite a bit of "space" music in this score, not least in the finale, which is played entirely at the lowest possible dynamic level. Leonard Slatkin's performances are among the finest available. --David Hurwitz


Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote two symphonies that were essentially love letters to London. The Second Symphony was pre-World War II, and invoked a powerful portrait of the great city that RVW admired. The Fifth Symphony was begun during WW2 and premiered in 1943. It was a moment of deep reflection on the massive devastation London had suffered, but also a message of encouragement as Londoners looked for the end of the war and the opportunity to rebuild. Like the Second Symphony, it begins with a vision of London from a distance, with a far-away train signal and a bit of London fog from the strings. The entire first movement stays very much in this pastoral mode. Like the third movement of the Second Symphony, the second movement of the Fifth Symphony is undoubtedly a vision of life on the London streets, though more subdued, given the circumstances. The third movement "Romanza" is absolutely one of the most stunning symphonic statements in the entire repertoire--a soulful message of hope and humanity amid so much destruction. The Finale, like the finale of the Second Symphony, is an optimistic look ahead, so reassuring in its time that the audience at the premiere performance was deeply moved.

RVW began the Sixth Symphony during WW2, and never assigned much of a programmatic significance to it. It's vintage RVW--excellent textures, gorgeous harmonies, brilliant string writing--with maybe a hint of the violence of WW2, but it's clear RVW said much of what he had to say regarding WW2 with the Fifth Symphony.

Throughout this recording, the Philharmonia Orchestra plays brilliantly. The textures are clear, pitch and ensemble precise but not mechanical, tone quality positively beautiful, and a real sense of balance and cooperative musicianship. Leonard Slatkin, whose recorded output is decidedly uneven, gets the interpretations right here, pacing everything in a relaxed way and allowing the structure of these pieces to unfold naturally. As with all of Slatkin's RCA recordings, the recording levels are a bit low, but no worries--turn it up and enjoy.

All things considered, this is an excellent recording. If you're unfamiliar with the symphonic output of RVW, this would be a good place to start, and I can't recommend the Fifth Symphony strongly enough.