Vaughan Williams studied at the Royal College of Music, where he became a friend of fellow-student Gustav Holst, a friendship that proved important for frank exchanges on their compositions.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Vaughan Williams admitted to borrowing the opening of his Symphony No. 4 from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, stating that a composer should write what is right for the moment.
Critical Reception
The first performance of Symphony No. 4 in 1935 had a mixed reception, with some finding it reflected the disturbed conditions of the time, while others criticized it as a break from the composer's earlier style.
Composer Biography
Ralph Vaughan Williams, the composer, had a distinguished ancestry, with his maternal grandfather being a Wedgwood and his grandmother a Darwin.
Instruments
Paul Silverthorne, the viola soloist on this recording, plays a viola made by the Brothers Amati in 1620, on loan from the Royal Academy of Music.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Vaughan Williams collected folk-music in various regions of England, an interest that significantly influenced his musical language.
Composition History
The immediate cause for Vaughan Williams starting work on his Symphony No. 4 was a newspaper article describing a 'modern' European symphony.
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