Recorded live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, London, on 24 September 2008 (Symphony No. 8) and 1 May 2013 (Symphony No. 4).
Vaughan Williams was one of the 20th century’s most important symphonic voices. He composed in almost every genre, and even within his nine symphonies he encompassed a wide range of styles, sound-worlds and formal approaches.
At its 1935 premiere the Fourth Symphony surprised many who were more used to the ‘pastoral’ sound of his earlier symphonies. Yet fellow British composer William Walton admired the work greatly, speaking of it as ‘the greatest symphony since Beethoven’. The Eighth is the shortest of the composer’s symphonies, and much more light-hearted and joyous in mood. At the same time, it too is full of remarkable invention, especially the composer’s experiments in orchestral colour.
Vladimir Jurowski has a strong affinity with British music, having embraced (both in concert and on the LPO Label) Britten, Holst and increasingly Vaughan Williams, as well as contemporary British composers such as Mark-Anthony Turnage and Julian Anderson.
Ryan Wigglesworth is the leading composer/conductor of his generation. He works with leading orchestras internationally and is currently English National Opera’s Composer in Residence. He has a formidable pedigree with British repertoire including Birtwistle’s The Minotaur at Covent Garden and Knussen’s Higglety Pigglety Pop! at Aldeburgh, and has already introduced a host of British music, including the Sky Arts Award-winning world premiere of Julian Anderson’s The Discovery of Heaven with the LPO. This performance was released on the LPO label in 2013 with The Crazed Moon and the world premiere recording of Fantasias, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. The disc was a Gramophone Editor’s Choice and a finalist in their 2014 Awards.
Both these Vaughan Williams symphonies were recorded live in concert at Royal Festival Hall. The Symphony No. 4 concert in May 2013 was part of Southbank Centre’s The Rest Is Noise year-long festival of 20th-century music, inspired by Alex Ross’s bestselling book of the same name.

“Jurowski’s account of the Eighth is well judged and paced, without ever really revealing why he should have chosen to conduct that particular symphony, but it’s Ryan Wigglesworth’s performance of the Fourth that really makes the disc worthwhile. The precision of the London Philharmonic’s playing is the starting point for a reading of tremendous power and authority.” The Guardian