London circa 1910 Photo: Public Domain, Publisher: O. Flammger. London (Stengel & Co. Dresden)
Even though there are several obvious musical references to London – like the unmistakable stroke of the half-hour on the Westminster Chimes that we hear at the beginning and the end – Vaughan Williams didn’t want us to think of this symphony as a programmatic, story-telling piece.
He said that a better title would have been “Symphony by a Londoner”, although perhaps inconsistently, he later described some specifics: the second movement, he said, was “Bloomsbury Square on a November afternoon” – you can really sense that damp London mist – and it includes the cry of a lavender-seller and the jingling bells of hansom cabs.
And the third movement, the Scherzo, he subtitled “Nocturne” as it depicts the jaunty, even garish crowds out in the streets enjoying themselves.
The symphony was written in 1912-13 originally but in later years Vaughan Williams revised the work significantly, ruthlessly cutting out nearly twenty minutes of music. It's the leaner version that is most commonly played, as in this performance from the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
Recorded by RNZ Concert, Auckland Town Hall, 5 March 2020
Producer: Tim Dodd; Engineer: Adrian Hollay
Other performances from this concert:
Jennifer HIGDON: river sings a song to trees, from City Scape
