Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6
The Fifth Symphony shares some of its musical material with the operaThe Pilgrim's Progress,and the composer dedicated it "without  permission" to Sibelius. Indeed the work has something of Sibelius's nature  poetry about it, as well as a solemn, almost religious quality in the slow  movement. The Sixth, by contrast, is the composer's bleakest and most terrifying  work, the second movement being a close relative of Holst's "Mars," fromThe  Planets.There's actually quite a bit of "space" music in this score, not  least in the finale, which is played entirely at the lowest possible dynamic  level. Leonard Slatkin's performances are among the finest available.--David  Hurwitz