Prom 6 – Vaughan Williams and Tippett – Full Fourths

Celebrations of Vaughan Williams’ 150th anniversary run right through this season. The composer who defined British music for a generation, and whose legacy continued to shape it, may still be best known for the pastoral beauty of The Lark Ascending (see Prom 52) but his music is startling for its breadth. The ferocity of the composer’s Fourth Symphony – described by Walton as ‘the greatest since Beethoven’ – showcases the raw power of the orchestra. The BBC Philharmonic and Chief Conductor Omer Meir Wellber pair it with Tippett’s Fourth Symphony, an arresting work that takes listeners from the first breath to the final gasp of human life.