Andrew Manze, Music Director, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Symphony No. 5; Ralph Vaughan Williams (Conductor), London Philharmonic Orchestra
A pacifist and humanist, Vaughan Williams completed his Fifth Symphony during the darkest days of the World War II. It was premiered in London in 1943 and is an unambiguous expression of hope and confidence in mankind’s ability to salvage goodness from the wreckage of day to day realities. Putting subtexts aside, it’s also a really beautiful piece.