US TARIFFS UPDATE | August 2025 | No impact expected on your Presto orders | Read full details
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Manze
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, April 2018, Editor's Choice
-
Record Review, 7th April 2018, Recording of the Week
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
Manze earns himself a large plus-point for taking the Fifth Symphony’s Scherzo second movement closer to Vaughan Williams’s ‘Presto’ tempo marking than usually happens…the music’s quicksilver...
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Manze
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, April 2018, Editor's Choice
-
Record Review, 7th April 2018, Recording of the Week
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2018
Manze earns himself a large plus-point for taking the Fifth Symphony’s Scherzo second movement closer to Vaughan Williams’s ‘Presto’ tempo marking than usually happens…the music’s quicksilver...
About
Andrew Manze’s interpretations of Vaughan Williams’ Symphonies have been met with acclaim from audiences and critics alike. This third album in the series contains two masterpieces. The 5th Symphony of 1943 displaying a ‘greatness of soul’ as one commentator at the time wrote, draws on material for ‘The Pilgrims Progress’ from 1906. The 6th Symphony of 1944-7 stunned the audience at its premiere – some tried to explain the works last movement as depicting a nuclear wasteland.
RVW denied it was a war symphony, renewing the questions asked about the 4th: why did he write such another such violent work, and what did it mean? The composer, shocked by the nuclear wasteland talk commented ‘we can get in words nearest to the substance of my last movement in “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded by a sleep” from “The Tempest”.
Contents and tracklist
- Royal Liverpool Philarmonic Orchestra
- Andrew Manze
- Royal Liverpool Philarmonic Orchestra
- Andrew Manze
Spotlight on this release
-
Andrew Manze on Vaughan Williams
5th Sep 2019
The conductor talks to David about his recently-concluded series of Vaughan Williams symphonies with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on Onyx, and the postscript to the cycle which will be released in October...
Awards and reviews
-
Gramophone MagazineApril 2018Editor's Choice
-
Record Review7th April 2018Recording of the Week
-
Presto Recordings of the YearFinalist 2018
June 2018
Manze earns himself a large plus-point for taking the Fifth Symphony’s Scherzo second movement closer to Vaughan Williams’s ‘Presto’ tempo marking than usually happens…the music’s quicksilver speed of thought is beautifully conveyed, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra strings well up to the challenge also.
April 2018
The clarity of the orchestral sound, especially in the pointillistic orchestration of the Fifth, is compelling (the Scherzo in particular, whose tempo Manze gives an extra injection of adrenalin)…[The Scherzo of the Sixth] this is virtuoso stuff, splendidly handled by conductor and orchestra…Any lover of Vaughan Williams as a symphonist will find this recording exceptionally rewarding.
11th March 2018
Both works, outwardly so different, are beautifully played by the Liverpool orchestra. The violence and menace of No 6 strike you forcibly, in performance and in recording, as does No 5’s healing serenity.
15th April 2018
Manze’s feeling for structure and transparency is matched by the orchestra’s glowing intensity and accuracy. This cycle is proving essential listening.
