Symphony No. 9 in e minor

Composer: VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, Ralph
  • Vaughan Williams composed his final symphony between 1956-57. Although a definitive program doesn’t appear in the final version of the composer’s score, Vaughan Williams was initially influenced by Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Ubervilles when writing the piece.
    • In early drafts, Vaughan Williams called the first movement “Wessex Prelude” and the fourth “Landscape.” The tolling bells at the end of the second movement coincide with the conclusion of Hardy’s novel.1
  • Vaughan William’s ninth symphony is “a more sombre work, at once heroic and contemplative, defiant and wistfully absorbed.”2 This final symphony is both innovative and derivative of the composer’s earlier works. Vaughan Williams resurrects several moments and moods from his past works:
    • For example, the ominous opening of the first movement, “Moderato maestoso,” resembles the beginning of Sinfonia antarctica.
    • The flugelhorn melody at the opening of the second movement, “Andante sostenuto,” is taken from The Solent (1903), also used in A Sea Symphony.
    • The tranquility of the fourth movement’s opening, “Andante tranquillo,” resembles the Epilogue of the composer’s sixth symphony (which also happens to be in e minor).
  • Like his eighth symphony, Vaughan Williams used unusual instrumentation in his ninth, including a flugelhorn, three saxophones, and a gong.
  • Symphony No. 9 premiered in 1958 under the baton of Sir Malcolm Sargent and was dedicated to the Royal Philharmonic Society.
    • Vaughan Williams received the Gold Medal from the Society in 1929.3

Sources

  1. Stephen Connock, “Symphony No. 9 in E minor” in accompanying booklet, Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Complete Symphonies performed by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, CHAN 5303, 2022, compact disc.
  2. Hugh Ottaway and Alain Frogley, “Vaughan Williams, Ralph,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 18, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000042507.
  3. Stephen Connock, “Symphony No. 9 in E minor” in accompanying booklet, Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Complete Symphonies.

Cut IDs

24793