(黑膠)佛漢威廉士：倫敦交響曲 Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (Vinyl)

佛漢．威廉士的作品善於結合都鐸古調和現代多調火花，運用巨大結塊和弦，塑造深沉遠見的宗教精神力道，被史家推許為艾爾加和布瑞頓之間最重要的英國作曲家。＜第2號交響曲＞又名＜倫敦交響曲＞，雖然佛氏宣稱此乃抽象之作，學界仍認為全曲顯係對倫敦榮光的頌讚，而且四個樂章分別描寫倫敦黃昏、布魯姆斯伯瑞的喧鬧、週末夜狂歡和泰晤士河的平靜流動。佛漢．威廉士曾三度修訂此曲，本片則是1913年原始版本的世界初錄音。佛氏將這首交響曲題獻給英年早逝的作曲家布特沃斯，本片加錄布特沃斯的田園牧歌＜綠柳河岸＞做為補白，別具意義。希冠克斯的指揮充滿使命感且扣人心絃，加上24bit示範級顛峰錄音，贏得世界最高大獎，實至名歸。

"Chandos presents its second recent LP re-release, the distinguished première recording of Vaughan William’s A London Symphony in its original 1913 version. This recording, featuring Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra, was met with universal critical acclaim upon initial release, being ‘destined for classic status’, according to Gramophone. The Banks of Green Willow is a sensuous work which incorporates two folksongs that Butterworth had collected in 1907. It was he who first suggested to Vaughan Williams that he should write an orchestral symphony and, after the tragic death of Butterworth, Vaughan Williams dedicated A London Symphony to his memory. The work was first performed at the Queen’s Hall in London in 1914, and, as on this LP, was programmed after The Banks of Green Willow. Following the loss of the full score in 1914 it was reconstructed from the orchestral parts. Vaughan Williams then revised the symphony three times: in 1918, 1920, and 1933, and the well-known ‘Revised Edition’ was published in the mid-1930s. The original version, heard here, contains about twenty minutes of music not included in the familiar final version, among it (according to Bernard Herrmann) some of ‘the most original poetic moments in the entire symphony’. This recording remains the only one of the original 1913 version of A London Symphony."