Various Artists - Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 (2022)

The [4th Symphony] is especially interesting: not previously issued separately; furthermore, it may well be new to the Davis discography. Vaughan Williams’ Fourth Symphony receives a terrific reading ... first movement full of teeming energy and the recorded sound adds to the impact ... an expertly judged slow movement offers refined playing but they and Davis make the climaxes ardent. The Scherzo is really incisive … the finale explodes into life and the LSO brass is on trenchant form … Davis keeps the performance rock-steady and they achieve great clarity … hard to understand why it was never issued separately – greatly to be welcomed” (MusicWeb). [5th symphony]: “I found these performances far more communicative ... Marriner conveys a greater sense of radiance and warmth and a greater awareness of the underlying forces beneath the surface (the final movement is particularly well done)” (Gramophone)