Vaughan Williams 'A London Symphony' - Leonard Slatkin conducts

Leonard Slatkin has been a champion of several English composers over the years and his discography includes all nine symphonies of Vaughan Williams, both of Elgar's two symphonies, as well as works by Holst and Walton. Here he is in 2003, at a time when he was the BBC Symphony's chief conductor, in a Proms performance of Vaughan Williams's 2nd Symphony, sometimes referred to by the composer himself as "A Symphony by a Londoner." It could almost be called "A Day in the Life of a Londoner," since the first movement opens with a depiction of dawn over the River Thames, complete with the Westminster Chimes, while the close of the finale evokes the great city returning once again to its slumbers. The concert took place in London's Royal Albert Hall to a packed and enthusiastic audience.