{"product_id":"sargent-mitropoulos-vaughan-williams-symphonies-2-and-9-194558-pasc234","title":"SARGENT \u0026 MITROPOULOS Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 2 and 9 (1945\/58) - PASC234","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eVAUGHAN WILLIAMS\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e Symphony No. 9\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eVAUGHAN WILLIAMS\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eRecorded in 1958 and 1945\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003e Total duration: 77:50 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eSir Malcolm Sargent\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e Dimitri Mitropoulos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFanfare Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eI was wondering when this Vaughan Williams Ninth\nwas going to be issued on CD. I had assumed it would come out on a label\nlike BBC Classics but here it is, finally, on Pristine Audio. I have\nhad the original 10-inch BBC transcription disc in my possession for\nmany years. I even had a friend transfer it to CD. This Pristine Audio\nreissue sounds fuller and quieter and that is merely one reason I am\ndelighted to see this CD appear. Vaughan Williams, after extensive\ndiscussions with the conductor, Sir Malcolm Sargent, supervised the\nrehearsals and even paid for an extra one to make sure things went right\nat the 1958 premiere, which this recording preserves. The Ninth is an\nodd symphony. One might tend to think of it as a sort of farewell to\nlife but there is little of the valedictory about it. The Eighth\nSymphony sounds like a transitional work to me. The mystical, visionary\nNinth, with the composer seemingly staring off into the future, strikes\nme as a new phase in his creative life, one that might have generated\nseveral new symphonies but it was not to be. Sargent’s tempos, it will\nbe noted, are faster, in some cases very much so, than nearly all the\nconductors who went on to record the symphony (Pristine’s timings are\ndeceptive because they include the pauses between the movements); I\nthink Leonard Slatkin does the Scherzo just a shade faster and Kees\nBakels’s total timing is just under Sargent’s (but Bakels wasn’t part of\nBritish tradition and was apparently uninfluenced by it). In fact, if I\nwere determined to obtain a modern, two-channel recording, it is to\nBakels (Naxos) that I would turn, though I think his last movement falls\na bit flat, but this Sargent performance has that elusive sense of\noccasion and Pristine has preserved and enhanced it. Why, then, didn’t\nother conductors follow Sargent’s example? I have a theory about that:\nSir Adrian Boult, who was closely associated with Vaughan Williams and\nhad already recorded the existing eight symphonies, was informed about\nthe composer’s death shortly before the session during which he was to\ndo the Ninth Symphony for Everest. It goes without saying that Boult\nwould have found the death of one he so admired saddening and I think\nthat, in his mind, the symphony took on a valedictory quality that it\nreally doesn’t have—it is a step into the future, not a summing up. The\nresult was slower tempos and a more solemn approach to the music than\nthat of Sargent, who, in any case, was not closely associated with\nVaughan Williams during his career; I am aware of BBC recordings of the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eSea Symphony\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\n(with a big cut in “The Explorers”) and a very good Fourth, and that’s\nall, except for this one. It would make sense that subsequent\nconductors, knowing Boult’s authority (after this, he went on to record\nthe entire cycle all over again), were probably influenced by him. In\nany case, for me, Sargent’s energetic, swift attack gives the music more\nsharp edges and I think it is the way the piece should go and,\napparently, the way the composer thought it should go. I have one minor\ncomplaint and that is the difficulty of hearing the harp glissandos\ntoward the end of the symphony; they really impart an air of mystery,\nand some conductors do bring those passages off to great effect. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eThe Dimitri Mitropoulos “London” Symphony is a\nfrustrating case. It just doesn’t sound very good. One company that\nspecializes in historical reissues considered issuing it but finally\ndecided that it just couldn’t be brought up to their standards. In\ntruth, it isn’t up to Pristine Audio’s standards, either, but I’m glad\nthey decided to take their chances and make it available. The 1945 NBC\ntranscription is somewhat muffled, often distorted, on rare occasions\neven a bit wobbly, but something about this music really engaged\nMitropoulos, who delivers a sensitive, by turns poetic and dynamic\naccount of the score. In my A\u0026amp; R fantasies, I have envisioned\nMitropoulos recordings of the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth—if I may\njudge by his studio and live Fourths, they would have been something to\nhear and, really, so is this Second, if you can listen through the\ndistractions, which do diminish somewhat after the first movement. The\nconductor’s one unorthodox gesture is the Scherzo, which, though very\nwell done, moves along quite briskly. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESb\"\u003eJames Miller \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis article originally appeared in Issue 34:2 (Nov\/Dec 2010) of Fanfare Magazine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC234.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eWorld première of the Ninth - Rare recording of the Second\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"center\"\u003e\u003cem class=\"bodymid\"\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eTwo very special Vaughan Williams symphony recordings newly remastered\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eI first received copies of these two remarkable and rare concerts back in February of this year in cassette form from Edward Johnson. We were both enthusiastic about the performances but just a little sceptical about the medium. I began by transferring the Ninth Symphony and set about its restoration, but soon realised that despite the finest Nakamichi replay equipment and all the digital restoration tools at my disposal, I would be unable to do full justice to the original recording from this particular copy. And so began the hunt for a better source.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eA few weeks later, Edward came back to me with the suggestion that the renowned writer, musicologist and expert on British classical music, Lewis Foreman, thought he might have copies of these on tapes stored “in his shed”, and would we like him to dig them out? One likes to hope that, tucked away in attics and sheds around the world are carefully preserved gems like this, as when Mr. Foreman's own tape-to-CD transfer of the 9th arrived I immediately knew we were on track for an excellent-sounding release.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eThe recording was taken from a later BBC FM rebroadcast, and I've been able to add in announcements from the original broadcast, preserved in a second transfer by Mr. Foreman of discs prepared for overseas broadcasts by the BBC in the 1950s, but of lower overall sound quality. Aside from very occasional bursts of static, which have been largely eradicated, the sound quality was excellent throughout, and it is a pleasure and privilege to be able to make this historic world première recording available to the public.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eThe Mitropoulos is another stunning and very rare recorded performance, and again Mr. Foreman's source has been used almost throughout (some small patches from Edward Johnson's cassette were required for the opening announcement). However, this originated in another era, and suffered a wide range of faults originating in the acetate 78s onto which it would have been first recorded. I have dealt as best I can with thousands of ticks, pops and scratches, aimed to reduce or eliminate where possible peak distortion, corrected multiple pitch variation problems and kept the sound as open and vital as I possibly can. Sonically, after the 9th; it takes a moment or two for the ears to adjust, but the listener will soon find him or herself drawn into Mitropoulos' magical recreation of Vaughan Williams' London. It really is a superb rendition of this classic English symphony, one which easily transcends the limitations placed upon it by the shortcomings of the original recording.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVAUGHAN WILLIAMS \u003c\/b\u003eSymphony No. 9 in E minor (1956-7) (World Première) \u003cbr\u003eRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra\u003cbr\u003econducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent\u003cbr\u003eRoyal Festival Hall, 2nd April, 1958\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eVAUGHAN WILLIAMS\u003c\/b\u003e A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2) (1913) \u003cbr\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra\u003cbr\u003econducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos\u003cbr\u003eStudio 8H, New York, 9th December, 1945\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecial thanks to Lewis Foreman for these transfers from his private collection\u003cbr\u003e XR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, February-June 2010\u003cbr\u003e Cover artwork based on a photograph of Vaughan Williams\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Total duration: 77:50 \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover 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