Piano Concerto in C

Composed :	1st and 2nd movements : 1926, 3rd : 1930-1. Revised for two pianos : c.1946
Accompaniment :	Full Orchestra
Movements :	I - Toccata (Allegro moderato)  II - Romanza (Lento)  III - Fuga chromatica, con finale alla tedesca
Duration :	25 minutes

"Vaughan Williams was never happy writing for the piano as a solo instrument. Nevertheless, he produced a full-blooded, virtuoso concerto in the Romantic tradition, using the keyboard writing of Busoni as his model. It's also a monument of British modernism and looks forward to the masterful Symphony No. 4. The Piano Concerto was revised on the recommendation of Sir Adrian Boult to improve the balance of the piece. This upset the original soloist, Harriet Cohen, to whom it was dedicated - however, she was eventually reconciled."

"In the 40s, however, Vaughan Williams, on the advice of friends, persuaded himself that the orchestra overwhelmed the piano. So with the help of Joseph Cooper he arranged the piece for two pianos and orchestra. He was, as it turns out, mistaken. Howard Shelley has very ably proven that the right soloists can hold their own." -- Steve Schwartz

Concerto Accademico in D

"Written for violin and string orchestra. This is Vaughan Williams' homage to the Bach Concerto for 2 Violins, a work he loved so much; he requested they play it at his funeral (and they did). The work has the same rhythmic vigor and forward impulse as its model and curiously anticipates Hindemith's mature neo-classical manner." -- Steve Schwartz

Fantasia on Old 104th

"For piano, chorus, and orchestra. Meditations on a hymn tune. It's an odd work ( which I prefer to Beethoven's Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage for the same general forces ), and it signals Vaughan Williams' interest during his very long old age in creating new orchestral sounds. The piano writing does not call attention to itself as such, but the musical ideas have the all the affability of granite, and much of its strength as well. It's a hard work to get to know, but definitely worth it." -- Steve Schwartz

Flos Campi

"For viola, wordless chorus, and orchestra. From its astonishing opening in several different simultaneous keys (which sound absolutely right together) to its final, lush murmurs, this work enthralls you with passion of Solomon's Song of Songs. More a viola concerto than a cantata (Vaughan Williams uses the chorus as added color in his orchestra, just as Ravel does in Daphnis et Chloe), this is essentially variations on the pentatonic scale, which makes it sound both folk-like and oriental at the same time. For such a strange work, (its title means "Flower of the Fields"), it has had its fair share of recordings."

Recommended Recordings :

The Lark Ascending

This work was inspired by the poem by George Meredith, the full text of which can be seen here.

This work is subtitled "A Romance for violin and small orchestra" - and RVW tended to reserve the title "Romance" for some of his favourite and most lyrical pieces. It was originally written in 1914, but the outbreak of war delayed its first performance and it was revised by the composer in 1920. It is ironic that a work evoking the tranquillity of pre-war England would be premeried in the same land now shattered by war 6 years later.

"This is a bona fide and thoroughly-deserved VW Hit. It is one of the most artistically dangerous works I know. It begins with the solo violin imitating the swoops of a bird, and it risks either monotony or ridicule. Although it sounds free, it's built very tight and not one note outstays its welcome. The music seems to rise and fall with the lark's flight and ends in the ecstatic ether."

"Many have recorded this work, but the recordings below have stood the test of time. Brown does well, but Marriner for some reason seems asleep. All the energy comes from the soloist. Hugh Bean and Adrian Boult both have the measure of the score." -- Steve Schwartz

Romance for Harmonica

"A gift for the American expatriot Larry Adler. A composer doesn't normally get the chance to write for this instrument, but according to Adler, VW exploited the instrument's capabilities idiomatically on the first go. The opening chords from the harmonica, he said, could have come straight out of an instruction chart, but this misses the point. What we get is a wonderfully poetic piece for a neglected instrument, sort of a Lark Ascending for mouth harp. British virtuoso Tommy Reilly has recorded the piece at least twice with Marriner and the ASMF, but I have a lingering tenderness for Adler's rendition, conducted by Morton Gould (not currently available)." -- Steve Schwartz

Suite for Viola

"Eight sections (including a Musette, a Carol, and a Polka melancolique) arranged in three groups - that should tell you something of Vaughan Williams' idiosyncratic sense of form. Yet, the music sounds perfectly natural. It's not a major work, like Flos campi, but it does touch the heart. Riddle and Norman Del Mar perform the only available recording. I prefer a long out-of-print LP with violist Melvin Berger and conductor John Snashall." -- Steve Schwartz

Recommended Recordings :

Concerto in F minor for Bass Tuba

In the last decade of his life RVW took to experimenting with what could well be considered as "unusual" instruments; in the 7th, 8th and 9th symphonies he included a wind machine, tuned gongs and flugelhorn respectively. During the same period RVW also wrote two works for soloist and orchestra, the harmonica romance and the tuba concerto, both emphasise the fact that RVW was still full of ideas well into his Eighties.

RVW seemed to have quite liked the tuba as an instrument, and often included parts for it in his orchestral works. However, in his Tuba Concerto it gets centre stage, and proves that it can hold its own as a concerto instrument. Musically, the Tuba Concerto is notable for having two cadenzas - in the first and last movements. RVW justified this by saying the concerto was more akin to the Bach style than the Mozart-Beethoven one. The central Romanza movement is probably the most popular part of this work, and it exists in versions for euphonium, bassoon, cello and piano.