Vaughan Williams, R.: Sea Songs / Bass Tuba Concerto in F Minor / Symphony No. 5

Featuring

Walter Hilgers
Michael Luig
Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt
Ralph Vaughan Williams

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Composition History

Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 5 incorporates themes from his unfinished opera based on Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, a project he worked on for about forty years.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Vaughan Williams absorbed influences from diverse sources, including Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, Bach, Byrd, and folksong, while remaining recognizably himself.

Composer Biography

Ralph Vaughan Williams (pronounced 'Rafe') received his training from composers like Parry, Stanford, Bruch, and Ravel, yet maintained a strongly individual style.

Recording & Production

The Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt, featured on this recording, is known for recording virtually unknown or unpublished compositions from the late 19th and 20th centuries, having released 21 such CDs since 1993.

Compositional Technique

The Concerto for Bass Tuba is considered the first tuba concerto firmly established in the repertoire, belonging to Vaughan Williams's late, experimental period.

Critical Reception

Initially, critics dismissed Vaughan Williams's Tuba Concerto as an 'eccentric belch,' but over time, it has been recognized as a small masterpiece.

Performer Biography

Walter Hilgers, the conductor and soloist on this album, was invited to the Bayreuth Festival in 1979 and won an audition for the Vienna State Opera in 1980 at age 20.