Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2)

Featuring

Martyn Brabbins
Elizabeth Watts
Mary Bevan
Kitty Whately
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Royal College of Music Brass Band

Ralph Vaughan Williams

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Composer Biography

Ralph Vaughan Williams, the composer, studied in Paris with Maurice Ravel, who had made the vocal score of Delius's opera Margot la Rouge.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Vaughan Williams stated that A London Symphony is not descriptive, but rather 'absolute' music, despite some local colour references like the 'Westminster Chimes'.

Composition History

Vaughan Williams's A London Symphony, his Symphony No 2, was completed by the end of 1913, five years after his return from Paris.

Composition History

A London Symphony is dedicated 'to the memory of George Butterworth', a dear friend and promising composer who suggested the idea for the symphony and was killed in action during World War I.

Composition History

Vaughan Williams revised A London Symphony at least three times, with the version on this recording being the first published score from 1920.

Compositional Technique

The openings of Delius's Paris and Vaughan Williams's A London Symphony are strikingly similar, both in G major, starting on the dominant D with identical orchestration and divided strings.

Performer Biography

Martyn Brabbins, the conductor on this album, has made over 120 recordings, including over fifty albums for Hyperion, and is known for his affinity with music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.