Grace Williams - Symphony no.2, Fairest of Stars

"[The Second Symphony is] an absorbing work whose mix of styles and models serves as a reminder that pluralism in music is not just a phenomenon of the years since 1980. The symphony begins by evoking Shostakovich and Vaughan... See more » "[The Second Symphony is] an absorbing work whose mix of styles and models serves as a reminder that pluralism in music is not just a phenomenon of the years since 1980. The symphony begins by evoking Shostakovich and Vaughan Williams but, by the finale, it is late-romanticism recalling both Wagner and Mahler that provides the source for William’s most powerful utterances. The orchestral compositions reveal a distinctive personality, but Williams is still more impressive in the neo-Straussian opulence of Fairest Stars, a setting of Milton whose vocal line seems to reflect the wonder and ecstasy of Ariadne auf Naxos … here projected with admirable sensitivity by Janet Price" Arnold Wittall, Gramophone See less »

Label: Lyrita Copyright: 1996 Lyrita Recorded Edition, England Catalogue number: SRCD.327 UPC/EAN: 5020926032720 Format: CD Analogue / Digital recording: ADD Number of discs: 1 Total playing time: 69.15 Price: £ 14.99 (+ postage &...