Ralph Vaughan Williams; Elizabeth Maconchy - A Sea Symphony; Nocturne (Antonio Pappano)

Information

Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams; Elizabeth Maconchy

• Vaughan Williams - A Sea Symphony "Symphony No. 1"
• Maconchy - Nocturne for Orchestra

Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, soprano

Will Liverman, baritone

London Symphony Orchestra

Antonio Pappano, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: LSO Live

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On this new LSO Live release, London Symphony Orchestra Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano leads the LSO in a compelling program of evocative 20th-century British orchestral music. The album features Ralph Vaughan Williams’s majestic Symphony No. 1, A Sea Symphony, a landmark choral epic setting Walt Whitman’s visionary poetry, brought to life alongside the London Symphony Chorus and acclaimed soloists Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and Will Liverman. Complementing this symphonic voyage is Elizabeth Maconchy’s dream-like, modernistic Nocturne for Orchestra from 1950. Together, these performances highlight Pappano’s ongoing Vaughan Williams cycle while shedding light on Maconchy’s shimmering, mysteriously atmospheric orchestral miniature.

Antonio Pappano (b. 1959, London) is one of today’s leading conductors, acclaimed for his work in opera and symphonic repertoire. After early debuts at the Vienna Staatsoper (1993), New York’s Metropolitan Opera (1997), and Bayreuth (1999), he went on to conduct the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Berlin, Vienna, and New York Philharmonics. He served as Music Director of the Norwegian National Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, and from 2002, the Royal Opera House in London. From 2005–2023, he directed the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, becoming its Conductor Emeritus in 2023. In 2024, he became Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. A prolific recording artist for Warner Classics and other labels, he has received numerous prestigious awards for his interpretations of opera and symphonic works.