TRACKLISTING

Rachmaninov
Symphony No.3 in A minor, op.44
Lento - Allegro moderato
Adagio ma non troppo
Allegro

Vaughan Williams
Symphony No.8
I Fantasia (Variazioni senza tema)
II Scherzo alla Marzia (per stromenti a fiato)
III Cavatina (per stromenti ad arco)
IV Toccata

RECORDING INFORMATION
Sir Adrian Boult, like Alexander Gibson, also made recordings for RCA Victor whose ownership reverted to Decca after the licence had expired. Among these are recordings of the Second and Third Symphonies by Sergei Rachmaninov.

In this release the Third Symphony by Rachmaninov is coupled with the FIRST RECORDING of Vaughan Williams's Symphony No.8.

Boult conducts Rachmaninov in the same style as the composer himself. This is not "heart-on-sleeve", but rather cool, quickly paced, dry-eyed Rachmaninov. The composer himself disliked conductors who wallowed in the romanticism of his music, which, he felt, would come out sufficiently if you just played the notes as written. Boult takes him at his word in a performance which lends a classical purity to this music.

Boult scarcely needs any introduction as a conductor of Vaughan Williams. He gave the first performances of many of the composer's works and is strongly identified with his music. As such, recorded in Decca's "Classic Sound", these recordings are well nigh definitive and completely deserving of inclusion in Decca Legends.