The Antarctic Connection
A scene in Antarctica
The film is about a doomed expedition to the South Pole, and the musical score by Ralph Vaughan Williams reflects the stoic heroism of men facing fearsome odds and who bravely accept defeat in their struggle against brute Nature.
As with his other film scores, the composer might have simply moved on to his next project. But something deeper had been stirred in him, and he resolved to turn the score into a major orchestral work.
In this hour, how Vaughan Williams transformed his score for
Scott of the Antarctic into his seventh symphony, the
| 02/16/2005 (3 out of 5 stars) Two Gramophone magazine critics presented this CD as their best classical music CD of 2002, heaping praise on an issue that had already been given much in that category. This led me to consider this recording a few years later when I sought this combination of symphonies.
Given all that, it is difficult to describe the dissatisfaction and alienation I feel after hearing this recording. I wonder what these critics hear in this music I don t? Compared to the outstanding recordings of this (and all other symphonies by Vaughan Williams) by Boult, Previn and especially Handley, Haitink s work is hardly more than routine.