These famous old performances have been remastered to generally good effect, offering marginally greater clarity and depth and firmer bass, even if the differences aren’t huge. There’s still plenty of ambient noise, though it’s easier to ignore, and direct comparison with previous issues on Australian Eloquence and Belart clearly favor this new release. Check out the scherzo of the Fourth, the finale of the Eighth, the slow movement of A London Symphony–basically any spot-check will favor the remastered edition. You also get the Ninth Symphony (courtesy of Everest) but lose the Partita for Double String Orchestra (no big deal, it’s one of the composer’s least interesting works).
As to the performances in general, they are a bit more vivacious than Boult’s EMI remakes (particularly in the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies), but the marked inferiority of the orchestra, the sour winds, scrappy strings, trash-can percussion, and general lack of tonal allure means that the EMI remakes, though not entirely free of problems of orchestral discipline themselves, remain the preferred renditions (especially for Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8). Either way, there’s no denying Boult’s authoritative and sympathetic way with this music. It’s just that the LPO, arguably the least accomplished of London’s major orchestras to this very day (and particularly in the early 1950s), seldom delivers first-class results by modern standards. Sad, but true.
Happily, EMI also offers its edition at budget price in generally fine stereo sound. Of course, Vaughan Williams completists will want this set as a matter of course despite its comparative crudeness; but it’s still very much a second choice unless minor variations in tempo take precedence for you over quality of playing and recording.
