Adrian Boult’s first recording of “A London Symphony” presents a brasher and edgier view of the music than his EMI remake from 15 years later. He really lets the brass rip, from the first great climax of the opening movement and continuing throughout the work (especially at the opening of the finale). Boult’s quicker tempo for the first movement’s allegro risoluto and his greater emphasis on percussion give the piece more of an urban feel. However, by 1975 Boult could command playing of much greater refinement from the London Philharmonic, and his special attention to the music’s lush string textures and pastoral moods (he seems to have grown to prefer the English countryside) is repaid in gorgeous sound from the orchestra. There’s some of this quality evident in the coupled Partita for Double String Orchestra, where Boult creates a rich sonic tapestry with the Philharmonic strings. However, Decca’s recording (even allowing for the mono sound) cannot compete with EMI’s superior production, as the former suffers from audible tape hiss along with dropouts that seriously mar the climax of the symphony’s finale.
