Customer Reviews

Vaughan Williams: Complete Concertos

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Hard to believe I am the first review since this CD was a 1994 release.
The versions of ALL these pieces are as good or better than any that have preceded or come after. Most Vaughan Williams afficianados will already have most or all of them. But this CD is A MUST anyway...
First off...Chandos has even outdone itself regarding the sound quality. Everything here is like hearing it for the first time. The cleanest, clearest, richest, warmest sound I have ever heard put to these great compositions. With a wide dynamic range, the smoothest bottom and great front to back depth. you will hear things you've never heard before. Just plain hair raising Gorgeous.
The Concerto Grosso is beautifully done. revealing the kinship with The Tallis Fantasy more so than any I've ever heard. Just The Best on record. The Lark Ascending has never sounded richer on CD and the Oboe concerto brings a new standard for the competition. Not just the Oboe, but the warm sensual pastorale playing behind it. Also the seldom heard Two Hymn-Tune Prelude is Beautiful and serene. Everything else on this CD is at the top of it's game also. A Must for all fans of this greatest of English composers.

This is a marvelous collection of the concertos written by Ralph Vaughan Williams. First is the Concerto Grosso dating from 1950 and brimming with beautiful melodies. The Oboe Concerto dates from 1944 and is an example of why Vaughan Williams' music is evocative of the English countryside. The Violin Concerto from 1924-25 is titled "Concerto Academico" probably referring to its neo-classical origin as a homage to Bach. The concerto has a pastoral feel to the music and the middle movement is especially tranquil and reflective with soaring melodies for the soloist.

The Tuba Concerto from 1954 is quite innovative and shows how fertile Vaughan Williams' imagination was when he was well into his 80's. The writing for the tuba is very inventive and reflects the composer's interest in this overlooked instrument. Aside from this, it is a lovely concerto that expresses the full range of the instrument and shows that the tuba, too, can be lyrical. The first disc concludes with Two Hymn-Tune Preludes scored for small orchestra. The music is nicely scored taking the original melodies and weaving them into pastoral images.

The second disc opens with the lovely The Lark Ascending, written by Vaughan Williams during the First World War (and was later revised). For me this music has always been the ideal expression of nature in music. The solo violin representing the lark of the title seems detached from the rest of the orchestra, just observing the land. The Piano Concerto of 1926-31 was admired by Bela Bartok. Vaughan Williams treats the instrument as a percussion instrument but his melodies are also engaging and tuneful, which makes the concertos neglect regrettable. There are few virtuoso passages where the pianist stands out which probably explains why so few have championed the concerto. In this recording, Howard Shelley is a perfect advocate for the music. The Romanza is beautifully conceived and reminds me more of a nocturne with the hushed tones of the orchestra and soloist. The Partita for Double String Orchestra began as a Trio but was rewritten in 1946-8 to its current form. The music is energetic and the two string orchestras are alternatively blended together, and then pitted against each other. The final selection, Toward the Unknown Region, was based on a poem by Walt Whitman and is for orchestra and chorus. This work, composed in 1907, looks forward to the Sea Symphony.

The recordings are beautifully recorded and Bryden Thomson and the London Symphony Orchestra perform with a real feeling for the scores. With the Vaughan Williams 50th anniversary next month this is an ideal set for someone wanting to get an overall picture of the composer's music.

Great, standard performances, very idiomatic, making up for slightly dated sound. Highly recommended , especially for VW fans.