Vaughan Williams & Elgar: The Lark Ascending; Tallis Fantasia; Introduction & Allegro; In Moonlight

Featuring

Pinchas Zukerman
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Edward Elgar

Did you know?

1/6

Composer Biography

Edward Elgar, a sensitive and nervous type from the lower-middle class and a Roman Catholic, became a leading late-Romantic composer through hard work.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Ralph Vaughan Williams, an enthusiastic folksong collector, loved to compose in a modal, pentatonic manner, often needing help with scoring his orchestral music.

Performer Biography

Pinchas Zukerman, the violinist, violist, and conductor on this album, has had a "love affair" with English music since the late 1960s.

Interpretation

Pinchas Zukerman learned Vaughan Williams's 'The Lark Ascending' in a matter of hours, contributing to the spontaneity of his 1973 recording and this album's interpretation.

Compositional Technique

Vaughan Williams's 'Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis' divides strings into two choirs, with the larger one supplemented by a solo quartet, and features poignant viola solos.

Composition History

Elgar sold his immensely popular 'Salut d'amour' for only two guineas, later receiving an additional ten, while his publisher made thousands by changing the title to French for commercial reasons.