An outstanding leader in England's twentieth-century musical renaissance, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) sought inspiration in English folk song and in the sights and sounds of his native country. "A London Symphony, " the composer's most colorful orchestral work and his own favorite among his first six symphonies, features echoes of street sounds and cries, including a Cockney accordion and the chimes of Big Ben.
Nevertheless, Vaughan Williams wrote of this symphony, "The music is intended to be self-expressive and must stand or fall as 'absolute music.'" Its successful fulfillment of...