I was at this concert (VW's 100th Birthday) as a 17 year old boy. It was the first time that I heard 'Job'. A week or two later I was at Westminster Abbey (where VW's ashes are buried) to hear Boult conduct Symphony No.5. These were two evenings that I never forgot.
An unending source of wonder - several beautiful themes blended together, the orchestration 'painted' brilliantly. Pastoral and yet we hear the horrors of war. VW 's music. and the man - the spirit of the best aspects of England...
My take (especially the first movement) was that this was not The War (II) but The War to Come. The atomic one. The uneasy security that underlies the 1950's and 60s. Hence all of the changes of mood and shall we say attitude?
The late and sorely missed Vernon 'Tod' Handley was a student of Sir Adrian and it really shows right down to his gestures - not forgetting the preference for a long baton either!
Truly otherworldly. Boult had so much of an air about him in his later years that this performance is much like the schoolmaster with his pupils. He was certainly from an older generation of conductors; masters of their craft.
Without Vaughan Williams and his great performer and his work's splendid conductor such as these performers and Sir Adrian Boult with exquisite skill and incomparable technique and beautiful attire , the classical music world would have been very lonely and insipid , and the enjoyment and pleasures of the classical music would have been less . I would feel that the classical music is like the taste of vapid beer From Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun 🇯🇵
What else was on the program? Was it all RVW? The professional music world at that time still hadn't shed their obsessive fixations with atonal music and the great 20th century tonal composers were being woefully neglected. Thankfully that charade did not last.
I remember that year they issued a commemorative postage stamp featuring RVW conducting wearing a green suit. When his widow Ursula first saw the stamp she commented "But he never owned a GREEN suit!"
Good thinking! RVW would have appreciated that joke.Apparently he had a wry sense of humour. He was rather amused when he found out that the choir rehearsing for a performance of his "Flos Campi" had nicknamed it "Camp Flossie". He used to refer to The percussion section of an orchestra as "The Hittites" but my favourite, according to Ursula he used to refer to The Vespa and Lambretta scooters he saw buzzing about the streets whilst they were on holiday in Italy as "Flying Bidets".
A masterful conductor, a true maestro, no histrionics, just total control of the orchestra with clean and clear direction and so obviously well rehearsed.
Has there ever been a conductor with such a mix of serenity, quiet authority, power, disclipine, calmness, and dignity? The human embodiment of Elgar's "nobilmente".
0:55 - 1st movement - Fantasia (Variazioni senza tema) 10:50 - 2nd movement - Scherzo alla marcia 15:02 - 3rd movement - Cavatina 22:28 - 4th movement - Toccata
Danny, thanks for sharing this wonderful performance !!! In Memoriam Sir Adrian Boult (1889-1983) Ralph Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 8 in D Minor Movements I. Fantasia [0:58] II. Scherzo alla Marcia (per stromenti a fiato) [10:54] III. Cavatina (per stromenti ad arco) [15:04] IV. Toccata Moderato Maestoso [22:30]
It is worth mentioning that this symphony was dedicated to Sir John Barbirolli, another wonderful conductor of VW's works. VW called him "Glorious John".
saw Boult conduct VW Symphony 5 at the Proms on 4 August 1975. He was rather frail and had to be helped onto the platform, but a memorable performance.
Just found this video. A first class composer with an excellent conductor and orchestra. Such small regular and clear gestures from AB. I don’t think I saw his feet move.
Very astute observation Paulo ! I agree. The baton technique is very individual. But once you accept that, it is enormously precise and expressive. Interesting for example how the beating is in constant flux in the slow movement. It just follows the ebb and flow of the music to perfection. Without any need for superfluous showmanship. Great stuff to watch ! On a side note, i love the immense concentration of the audience you can see in some shots.
VW had a talent for that. The 3rd movement of the 5th is the best known example, but you could include the 2nd movement of the Piano Concerto, the 2nd of the London Symphony (as well as a few shorter instances in that work, particularly in the last movement of the 1913 version)), and even the last movement of the 9th, with its valedictory sadness. No doubt there are many others outside the symphonies with which I'm not familiar. The man must have had a big heart.
I was just at a rehearsal of the LA Phil. According to their Performances Magazine, the symphony is about 46 minutes long so this recording is not the entire Symphony. The Fourth Movement, Toccata, is particularly exciting. It starts at 22:23.
The LA Phil is, in that case, completely incorrect. This recording is the entire symphony. The symphony usually comes in around 30 minutes give or take two or three minutes either side. Boult's 1956 recording comes in at 28:09, his 1969 remake a little slower at 28:36. Brabbins in 2021 at 29 minutes on the nose. Barbirolli in 1956 polishes it off in a neat 26:51. Manze in 2016 in 28:48. Bryden Thomson in 1988 is glacial at 30:26.
While the recording is rather harsh and solo instruments are over-miced, the performance is terrific. Boult was almost a contemporary of VW and had a feel for his music that few, if any, contemporary conductors have. I wish his music were performed and recorded more.
@@last9bars Very interesting. Thanks for posting. You mean you weren't a permanent member of any orchestra ? With what other ensemble did you play ? I'm a musical writer specialised in film music. Did you record film scores and if so, by which composers ?
Thanks for making this video of Maestro Boult & the LPO in live performance available. Compared to RVW's other symphonies, the 8th in D Minor is brief and lightweight, although it showcases a cornucopia of orchestral effects. Several years later, the composer would return and give vent to the deep, dark expression of his brooding temperament in a symphonic last will and testament, the 9th in E Minor, of which Boult & the LSO provide a definitive studio account.
As I pointed out in a recent article for the Musical Times it is also possible to hear the VARIATIONS FOR BRASS BAND (1957) as a kind of fifth movement in a manner that reflects a kind of divertissiment: the 'variations with a theme' of the brass band work complements the first movement 'variations without a theme' of the symphony and the 'brass band' forms another 'consort' of colors complimenting the 'consort' colors of the individual movements of the symphony. The unprecedented presence of celesta and glockenspiel in the brass band work amplifies the connection to the "all kinds of phones" of the symphony finale. It is a creative way of looking at it but, as I show in my analysis, there are many thematic links between the two works that are also in dialog with the Ninth Symphony. (The "lack of cohesiveness" in the Eighth, as noted by others also, also accommodates such connections.)
CHECK THESE OUT ALSO - Vaughan williams - sinfonia antartica (haitak) sheila armstrong / adagio in G minor (albinon's) / Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 9 in E minor / Frank Bridge The Sea
Don't the cellos and basses usually sit/stand to the conductor's right? Is this arrangement more common than I think, or is this something to do with Boult's preference or the venue? Thanks.
0:35 to 0:50 What do you suppose is going on? Boult and the leader (Rodney Friend?) turning and looking into the audience - could they be waiting for a recording light or something like that to come on? Any ideas?
It's very noticeable when you see old videos of orchestras how stiff the players were - today they are much more animated which makes them much more interesting to watch. My intro. to RVW was a concert with the L.P.O. way back in 1968.
@@robertfrankgill5962 It was a performance of the 2nd (London) symphony at the RFH but unfortunately I can`t remember the conductor - I was very young at the time :-)
Apology accepted. In fact I'd already picked the year from the hairstyles on the men (yes, you can track these things with amazing accuracy) and just wanted to know if I was right. I'm actually a huge RVW fan and didn't realize my enquiry might come across as abrupt. Yes, often people are idiots, but those people usually don't visit RVW sites, I suspect. I really appreciate people posting this stuff on TH-cam, as it's often works one would not get a chance to hear without buying an expensive CD. The symphonies of course I know well, and the 8th has been my second favourite (after the 9th) since I first heard it around 1965 (yes, I'm an old fart). Anyway, keep up the good work.
If you thought the players were stiff, how about the audience - the guys behind the percussion section during the ‘Toccata’ seemed frozen! Absorbed, yes, but untouched. The music itself was joyous, exuberant and wonderfully noisy, but appeared to have little effect on that part of the audience.
![Ralph Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 8 in D Minor [Boult/LPO/1972]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/R0-xN4vdoyM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Ralph Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 8 in D Minor [Boult/LPO/1972]](/img/tr.png)
Superbe...Merci encore. J'adore cette symphonie, la plus exubérante de son auteur. Quant au chef...une légende.
I was at this concert (VW's 100th Birthday) as a 17 year old boy. It was the first time that I heard 'Job'. A week or two later I was at Westminster Abbey (where VW's ashes are buried) to hear Boult conduct Symphony No.5. These were two evenings that I never forgot.
An unending source of wonder - several beautiful themes blended together, the orchestration 'painted' brilliantly. Pastoral and yet we hear the horrors of war. VW 's music. and the man - the spirit of the best aspects of England...
My take (especially the first movement) was that this was not The War (II) but The War to Come. The atomic one. The uneasy security that underlies the 1950's and 60s. Hence all of the changes of mood and shall we say attitude?
posts like this give youtube a reason to exist.
So used to watching "modern" conductors and Maestro Boult's long baton was immediately noticeable. What a presence! Love this video.
The late and sorely missed Vernon 'Tod' Handley was a student of Sir Adrian and it really shows right down to his gestures - not forgetting the preference for a long baton either!
Merveilleux Ralph Vaughan Williams dirigé par un grand chef d'orchestre, Sir Adrian Boult!
Wonderful recording and performance of a very under-rated symphony. Sir Adrian was 83 at the time.
Truly otherworldly. Boult had so much of an air about him in his later years that this performance is much like the schoolmaster with his pupils. He was certainly from an older generation of conductors; masters of their craft.
What a wonderful performance of this unique symphony. Sir Adrian's interpretation of Vaughan William's symphonies are amongst the best.
They are the best
His and Previn’s are the best! I did love Boult though, in nearly everything!
Without Vaughan Williams and his great performer and his work's splendid conductor such as these performers and Sir Adrian Boult with exquisite skill and incomparable technique and beautiful attire ,
the classical music world would have been very lonely and insipid ,
and the enjoyment and pleasures of the classical music would have been less .
I would feel that the classical music is like the taste of vapid beer
From
Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun 🇯🇵
I was there. It was RVW's centenary and he was a touch out of fashion at the time and the hall wasn't full. But it was a memorable evening.
What else was on the program? Was it all RVW? The professional music world at that time still hadn't shed their obsessive fixations with atonal music and the great 20th century tonal composers were being woefully neglected. Thankfully that charade did not last.
I remember that year they issued a commemorative postage stamp featuring RVW conducting wearing a green suit. When his widow Ursula first saw the stamp she commented "But he never owned a GREEN suit!"
However, RVW did compose "Fantasia on Greensleeves." Were the issuers of the stamp making an allusion through that part of his suit?
Good thinking! RVW would have appreciated that joke.Apparently he had a wry sense of humour. He was rather amused when he found out that the choir rehearsing for a performance of his "Flos Campi" had nicknamed it "Camp Flossie". He used to refer to The percussion section of an orchestra as "The Hittites" but my favourite, according to Ursula he used to refer to The Vespa and Lambretta scooters he saw buzzing about the streets whilst they were on holiday in Italy as "Flying Bidets".
LOL!!! ☺
A masterful conductor, a true maestro, no histrionics, just total control of the orchestra with clean and clear direction and so obviously well rehearsed.
Has there ever been a conductor with such a mix of serenity, quiet authority, power, disclipine, calmness, and dignity? The human embodiment of Elgar's "nobilmente".
@@glagolitic Beautifully stated and correct in every single word. Thank you for expressing such thoughts.
how wonderful to have this film of the great conductor.... thank you for sharing it with us.
Thank you for posting is astounding performance. I was fortunate enough to see Sir Adrian Boult in concert a number of times.
As we all know, English conductors graced or waited a long time before starting & Mr. Boult's correction of some"body" in the audience was wonderful!
0:55 - 1st movement - Fantasia (Variazioni senza tema)
10:50 - 2nd movement - Scherzo alla marcia
15:02 - 3rd movement - Cavatina
22:28 - 4th movement - Toccata
It is a wonderful performance. Sir Adrian was a great conductor.
spellbinding.......such a valuable recording. This composer's music is bottomless.
Danny, thanks for sharing this wonderful performance !!!
In Memoriam Sir Adrian Boult (1889-1983)
Ralph Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 8 in D Minor
Movements
I. Fantasia [0:58]
II. Scherzo alla Marcia (per stromenti a fiato) [10:54]
III. Cavatina (per stromenti ad arco) [15:04]
IV. Toccata Moderato Maestoso [22:30]
For anyone wishing to get into RVW's symphonies, this one is great place to start.
It is worth mentioning that this symphony was dedicated to Sir John Barbirolli, another wonderful conductor of VW's works. VW called him "Glorious John".
saw Boult conduct VW Symphony 5 at the Proms on 4 August 1975. He was rather frail and had to be helped onto the platform, but a memorable performance.
Just found this video. A first class composer with an excellent conductor and orchestra. Such small regular and clear gestures from AB. I don’t think I saw his feet move.
This film shows why Carlos Kleiber had so a big admiration for Sir Adrain Boult.
Very astute observation Paulo ! I agree. The baton technique is very individual. But once you accept that, it is enormously precise and expressive. Interesting for example how the beating is in constant flux in the slow movement. It just follows the ebb and flow of the music to perfection. Without any need for superfluous showmanship. Great stuff to watch !
On a side note, i love the immense concentration of the audience you can see in some shots.
I wish I had been there! Such a treat to see Boult conducting in such a fine recording. Thank you for posting this.
astonishing history with Sir Adrian Boult.
This is just beautiful -!!
The slow and hauntingly beautiful third movement is another of the composer's evidences to us of his greatness.
VW had a talent for that. The 3rd movement of the 5th is the best known example, but you could include the 2nd movement of the Piano Concerto, the 2nd of the London Symphony (as well as a few shorter instances in that work, particularly in the last movement of the 1913 version)), and even the last movement of the 9th, with its valedictory sadness. No doubt there are many others outside the symphonies with which I'm not familiar. The man must have had a big heart.
Marvelous.
Just found this....thanks so much.
Amazing symphony, great performance!
I was just at a rehearsal of the LA Phil. According to their Performances Magazine, the symphony is about 46 minutes long so this recording is not the entire Symphony. The Fourth Movement, Toccata, is particularly exciting. It starts at 22:23.
The LA Phil is, in that case, completely incorrect. This recording is the entire symphony. The symphony usually comes in around 30 minutes give or take two or three minutes either side. Boult's 1956 recording comes in at 28:09, his 1969 remake a little slower at 28:36. Brabbins in 2021 at 29 minutes on the nose. Barbirolli in 1956 polishes it off in a neat 26:51. Manze in 2016 in 28:48. Bryden Thomson in 1988 is glacial at 30:26.
While the recording is rather harsh and solo instruments are over-miced, the performance is terrific. Boult was almost a contemporary of VW and had a feel for his music that few, if any, contemporary conductors have. I wish his music were performed and recorded more.
Que gran interpretación del maestro Boult
A few old friends, some still with us in the band. One or two I can't recall their names, but remembered this morning
Thank you so much for posting, and fascinating! May I ask what your role was in the orchestra? :)
I was a freelance player in London for 40 years (viola).
@@last9bars Very interesting. Thanks for posting. You mean you weren't a permanent member of any orchestra ? With what other ensemble did you play ? I'm a musical writer specialised in film music. Did you record film scores and if so, by which composers ?
@@catchoupiote too many to list here - but thanks
@@last9bars Ok. If one day you feel like giving an interview on this subject, let me kow. I'll be interested.
Thanks for making this video of Maestro Boult & the LPO in live performance available. Compared to RVW's other symphonies, the 8th in D Minor is brief and lightweight, although it showcases a cornucopia of orchestral effects. Several years later, the composer would return and give vent to the deep, dark expression of his brooding temperament in a symphonic last will and testament, the 9th in E Minor, of which Boult & the LSO provide a definitive studio account.
Williams the ultimate British artist.
As I pointed out in a recent article for the Musical Times it is also possible to hear the VARIATIONS FOR BRASS BAND (1957) as a kind of fifth movement in a manner that reflects a kind of divertissiment: the 'variations with a theme' of the brass band work complements the first movement 'variations without a theme' of the symphony and the 'brass band' forms another 'consort' of colors complimenting the 'consort' colors of the individual movements of the symphony. The unprecedented presence of celesta and glockenspiel in the brass band work amplifies the connection to the "all kinds of phones" of the symphony finale. It is a creative way of looking at it but, as I show in my analysis, there are many thematic links between the two works that are also in dialog with the Ninth Symphony. (The "lack of cohesiveness" in the Eighth, as noted by others also, also accommodates such connections.)
Enjoyed this very much. If you get bored, try counting the number of women in the orchestra ...😉
Beautiful said to represent the 3rd sephiroth Binah.
Why are no British venues playing this? The nearest is Los Angeles…Get a grip Britain.
The beginning reminds me of the Vaughan Williams oboe concerto.
Must have been one of the largest batons in the world…..
CHECK THESE OUT ALSO - Vaughan williams - sinfonia antartica (haitak) sheila armstrong / adagio in G minor (albinon's) / Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 9 in E minor / Frank Bridge The Sea
Don't the cellos and basses usually sit/stand to the conductor's right? Is this arrangement more common than I think, or is this something to do with Boult's preference or the venue? Thanks.
Boult’s preference. The last conductor to do so, I believe.
0:35 to 0:50 What do you suppose is going on? Boult and the leader (Rodney Friend?) turning and looking into the audience - could they be waiting for a recording light or something like that to come on? Any ideas?
They were waiting for Inspiration to descend from the ceiling. :-)
The usual, waiting for stragglers in the audience to get back to their seats. Happens at every concert immediately after the interval!
(I) 0:58 / 2:38 / 3:40 / 5:09 / 6:28 / 8:26 / 10:02
(II) 10:54 / 12:33 [Fugato] / 13:22 [Lazy shuffling] / 14:22
(III) 15:04 / 17:23 / 18:46 [violin solo] / 20:13 / 21:22 [cello solo]
(IV) 22:30 / 23:52
It's very noticeable when you see old videos of orchestras how stiff the players were - today they are much more animated which makes them much more interesting to watch. My intro. to RVW was a concert with the L.P.O. way back in 1968.
Paul Lewis In 1968, really? Not the one I went to with Boult conducting in the Royal Albert Hall was it?
@@robertfrankgill5962 It was a performance of the 2nd (London) symphony at the RFH but unfortunately I can`t remember the conductor - I was very young at the time :-)
Along with the remarkable 1st I think the 8th is RVW`s finest symphony.
M4: 22:23
So what year is this?
1. I'll pretend you asked "So, what year is this *PLEASE*?"
2. The year is 1972, as written in the video description.
Sorry, forget to press "More". But if you'd heard the pleading, whimpering whine in which I asked the question, you wouldn't be quite so harsh.
My apologies. :) TH-cam comments are a funny thing. 99% of the time people are being idiots, 1% of the time it's a genuine comment. Thank you. :)
Apology accepted. In fact I'd already picked the year from the hairstyles on the men (yes, you can track these things with amazing accuracy) and just wanted to know if I was right. I'm actually a huge RVW fan and didn't realize my enquiry might come across as abrupt. Yes, often people are idiots, but those people usually don't visit RVW sites, I suspect. I really appreciate people posting this stuff on TH-cam, as it's often works one would not get a chance to hear without buying an expensive CD. The symphonies of course I know well, and the 8th has been my second favourite (after the 9th) since I first heard it around 1965 (yes, I'm an old fart). Anyway, keep up the good work.
If you thought the players were stiff, how about the audience - the guys behind the percussion section during the ‘Toccata’ seemed frozen! Absorbed, yes, but untouched. The music itself was joyous, exuberant and wonderfully noisy, but appeared to have little effect on that part of the audience.