Owens Archive
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 3; Symphony No. 4 – Andrew Staples, Rhys Owens, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Manze – ONYX
2 very finely played and recorded Vaughan Williams Symphonies B06VT5RT11 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 3 ‘A Pastoral Symphony’ (1921) Symphony No. 4 in F minor (1934) – Andrew Staples (tenor), Rhys Owens (natural trumpet), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Manze – ONYX CD 4161 TT:68:49 (4/21/17) **** From Onyx we have a continuation of their notable Vaughan Williams cycle on CD. Conductor Andrew Manze is getting excellent notices for his interpretations, and this new recording of the Vaughan Williams 3rd and 4th symphonies are going to enhance that reputation. The two symphonies are very different in mood. The Pastoral Symphony is just that, while the Symphony no. 4 is dissonant and angry. It’s often been attributed to Williams contempt for war and a prediction, perhaps, or WWII, but the composer has disavowed those observations. The Pastoral is unique for using a tenor soloist in the last movement, it’s usually a soprano, but Williams himself specified either a soprano or a tenor. Here it’s the fine voice of Andrew Staples. These are very fine performances, with the Pastoral taken a bit slower than my audio memory recalls for other performances, but I found no fault with that choice. The more dynamic Symphony no. […]
Audio News for October 21, 2016
Musical America 2017 Awards – went to pianist Juja Wang for Artist of the Year, to Andrew Norman for Composer of the Year, to Finnish Susanna Mälkki for Conductor of the Year. to bass-baritone Eric Owns for Vocalist of the Year, and to Eighth Blackbird for Ensemble of the Year. Noisy Audiences and Music – The Irish Times has a current article on Noisy Audiences and Classical Music. A couple in front of the reporter kept up an intermittent conversation thruout the entire concert. A few seats away a man was constantly swigging water from a large plastic bottle, while others here and there were busy texting away with their phones in silent mode. Irritating clapping – applause for the sake of applause – broke out after each movement of a symphony only added to the overall atmosphere of casual inattention. And the article didn’t even mention movies, where many of the audiences act just as they do at home watching TV, with everyone talking out loud. Ah, the advantages of listening to recorded music… Bluetooth Audio Set for Big Improvements – The people behind Bluetooth will move all audio applications into a new low-energy radio, called BLE for Bluetooth […]
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