Listening today in memory of Sir Andrew Davis. RIP.

RIP, Sir Andrew. I hope you will be reunited with this Romanza above.

rest in peace, Sir Andrew. What a fine performance. Note how the "etheral" slimmed-down Vaughan-Williams sound is accomplished, even in the forte parts. Great how this is done with an orchestra who probably don't have this music in their blood. It makes me long for that Sibelius cycle that we never got from Sir Andrew. I daresay that might have been special.

Rest In Peace, dear Sir Andrew Davis!

Yes, may the Maestro rest well. Thank you for this wondrous performance - the only one I ever listen to/watch, thank you for a fabulous Elgar 1 in Cardiff several years ago, thank you for all your RVW Symphonies, for grace and humility and absolute musicianship. What a life, what a legacy.

I was lucky enough to get to hear Sir Andrew Davis perform this piece with the Baltimore Symphony last night. Amazing!

So there I was in the late 60s, a teenager listening to 60s prog rock with my teenage friends, and suddenly I discovered RVW - first the Tallis Fantasia, and then the 5th Symphony. I was smitten. My friends all thought I’d lost my marbles. But RVW 5 has stayed with me all my life as my favourite piece of music ever, especially the Romanza. But also the last movement, particularly the way the strings go higher and higher, with an ascending scale in the background, until it all shimmers away into nothingness. And this performance - beyond words!

Quite simply the greatest live performance of this wondrous symphony - passionate, delicate, full-bodied, superbly played and ending sublimely. Utterly outstanding from Maestro Davis and this incredible orchestra.

RIP maestro!

In my opinion, this is one of the 20th century's finest symphonies.

This moves me to tears every time I listen to it. And this was one of the finest versions that I have heard; sublimely beautiful. I first heard this as a boy of eight in 1964 and it bowled me over with its ability to stir up such emotions that I'd only know by being along in the Hampshire countryside and by the southern coast of England and marvelling at the beauty of Nature. Thank you for this video.

That first few minutes of the Romanza just gets me in the gut EVERY SINGLE TIME. Swoon swoon swoon. Is there anything more beautiful??

Mit all meinen Worten kann ich nicht beschreiben, wie sehr mich dieses wundervolle Werk jedes mal aufs Neue mit seinem überwältigenden Optimismus und seiner Trost und Kraft gebenden Lebensfreude tief im Herzen berührt. Immer wieder bringt es mir ein Licht in diese Welt voller Dunkelheit, und wenn ich an seine unbekümmert voranfließenden Melodien denke, spüre ich die Gewissheit, dass alle Dinge sich irgendwann zum Guten wenden werden. Ich danke den Musikerinnen und Musikern und auch dem großartigen Dirigenten Sir Andrew Davis für dieses wundervolle Geschenk, das ich so sehr gebraucht habe! I cannot describe with all my words how wholeheartedly moved I am by this wonderful Symphony and its purely optimistic and joyful mood, which always gives me a feeling of solace and relief. It is my light in this world full of darkness, and when I think of its everflowing melodies I certainly know that one time everything will fall into place. Thank you so much for this wonderful gift which I so much needed in this time! Edit: I can´t get those last three minutes out of my head. This melody and those last bars reaching into heaven feel like hugging the whole world and are probably the most beautiful moment in music I have ever heard!

18:07-21:17 it seems these are the most beautiful notes ever penned by the hand of man

RVW work is so atmospheric and beautiful it’s beyond words. If you’re not moved by it then you have a heart of stone.

The entire symphony is lovely, but the end of the 4th movement is other worldly, takes me somewhere that is beautiful, somewhere where my dad and brother are.

I happened to play my CD of this symphony when my wife was in the middle of unloading the angst of her day. Within seconds she stopped and said it was like being transported to an English summer in the the countryside. Her angst drained away. Good old Ralph!

After a terse and even abrasive out of the box 4th symphony that even convinced Aaron Copland that VW was not a dull pastoralist, along comes the breathtakingly haunting and epic, yes epic, 5th symphony that allows VW to do what he does best: transform his listeners into a world of sonorous, tranquil, lovely, uncluttered, honest symphonic landscapes that lift, move, and better the human soul!! He is English, amen to that, but far from being dull, local, or provincial, he takes the indigenous English folk songs and melodies, makes them fully his own, and then gently covers the panorama of earth like a dawning, pure, soft snowfall, giving without holding back a heartfelt answer, to comfort and renew the fearful, anxious, tired, longing appetency of the 20th century!!! Bravo and HALLELUJAH master composer Vaughn Williams!!! Thank you!!!

I used to listen to these symphonies years ago and revisiting them the melodies and motifs all come back to me with such intense nostalgia and scenery I was engaged in with the time.

The slow movement to this work is one of the most beautiful pieces in classical music. ‘Definitely deserves more exposure.

Anyone else cry during the 4th movement? I was trying to follow along with the score (Seattle Public Library) and I had to put it down because my eyes filled ...

This is one of those rare pieces of music for which I am always in the mood. It never fails to move me...

I always remember that line from the biographical film, 'O THOU TRANSCENDENT' (a quote from the 1st Symphony) where we were informed that Vaughan Williams, "left us with tunes: but WHAT tunes!" And the lovely, late, Jill Balcon, telling us how, during his funeral in Westminster Abbey, she managed to hold back the tears, until they struck up with 'The Old 100th'; at which point the Abbey dissolved. Who cares about the 'musical experts': RVW ranks with Elgar, as one of the greatest of ENGLISH composers. RIP.

Without Vaughan williams' s masterpieces and his great performers and conductors such as these magnificent performers and Sir Andrew Davis, my enjoyment and pleasures of the music would have been less , There is something extraordinary in this splendid performance Sir Andrew Davis conducts From Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun 🇯🇵

this symphony is magical and tracendent beyond flags and old fashioned labels like "British Composer" . Flags only undermine the power of music. Vaughan Williams deserves being spread around the world because is the best for ours memories and souls. Is Beauty, elevation and perfection in Music. Demolishes barriers and frontiers.

The first time I ever heard this symphony, I was privileged to hear the Weimar Symphony play this while they were in NYC back in the mid-1990s. I had chills then, and I have chills once again. This symphony has helped me through many a rough times in my life!

My well remembered Frankfurt orchestra in their magnificent Alte Oper. One of the most beautiful symphonies ever written, sumptuously played.

Marvelous symphony. It pulls at my heart, and I feel as if I'm standing before an open, sweeping landscape after a storm, awaiting the reappearance of a brighter tomorrow.

This is one of the 5 or 6 pieces of music that I simply cannot listen to without tearing up. The Music of the Spheres!

This wonderfully calming music is helping during Covid-19 quarantine. Lol.

The Romanza is probably RVW‘s most moving piece of music to me. I’m always at the same time devastated and comforted when hearing it..

I've listened to this symphonic piece over 200 times and it never fails to move me every time! For me, RVW is the quintessential English composer!

The last four minutes (35:00) must surely constitute one of the most exquisite endings to any symphony. And what a great performance here!

Most beautiful performance of this music I've ever heard.

The 'Romanza' is just one of the most deeply moving pieces of music for me. Despite its title, to me its music of such pain, sorrow, and heartache. It's always gives me this image of a person looking out over the sea from a cliff, watching a loved one leave and there waiting for a return which might never come. Generally, the sound of this symphony puts into my mind images of the sea, and its place in the human world - much more so than a choir singing "Behoooold the seeeeeeea".

My goodness, this is an astonishingly superb performance. Do I have an absolute no. 1 favourite recording of my favourite V.W. symphony? You betcha.

Oh my God! I was sobbing at certain segments in this piece. Vaughan Williams Symphony no.5 occupies a special place in my heart for its pastoral (or soothing) yet forward-looking melody. Magnificent!

Interesting to consider that this wonderful piece saw the light of day when UK & Germany were very much at odds with each other....move on several decades and we now have an excellent German ensemble performing it with a top English conductor at the helm!

The opening of this wonderful symphony must be among the most haunting and exquisitely beautiful in all music. It does, however, have a tinge of sadness in that in conjures up, for me, a British countryside as it was in the composer's day - not scarred by distribution warehouses and motorways. Well, there is still much beauty left!

Bravissimo! How wonderful to see a German orchestra playing and fully understanding RVW's music under the brilliant Sir Andrew Davis. What is particularly emotional is that the players and audience seem to be playing/hearing this incredible music respectively for the first time and can hardy believe its emotional intensity. This is a wonderful humanitarian reaffirmation.

One of the very great symphonies of the 20th Century given a wonderfully devoted performance by an excellent German orchestra guided by the sure hands of Andrew Davis who has become a great Vaughan Williams conductor.

I think this is Williams' finest symphony. It's meditative ,but also has a large measure of elegance. Bravo to Sir Andrew Davis and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony.

One of the most beautiful symphonies I know of. it gives a true balm to the spirit. What a lovely performance this is.

The music feels effortless in its flow, a soft glow emanates.

Es ist eine sehr schöne Symphonie und ich fühle mich ruhig.

Any day is a great day for the Ralph

That ending!....with all the "Alleluias" in the violins wafting to Heaven over the Earthly grounding of the soft E timpani roll....simply transporting.....so beautiful!

The coda of the last movement is so beautiful. I hate VW for not making that part longer

And Andrew went to shake hands with the Double basses, how wonderful and not common

So beautiful, and such a wonderful orchestra. I never fail to be moved by the artistry of FRS!

Never fails to move me, both for the sheer beauty of the music itself and for evoking an England that is slipping away before my eyes...

It is wonderful to know that the music of this great English symphonist is now being heard in mainland Europe and especially in Germany, a country with such a great tradition of symphonic writing.

Sometimes it just clicks: a masterpiece of symphonic music of the 20th Century, a fine conductor, and a terrific orchestra eager to give its best effort to a piece it doesn't know -- result: WOW!

Music to transcend all barriers and unite the human spirit.

Deep emotion grew into my heart , and it was the time of supreme bliss . 🍎

I've been at the concert and it has been magnificient. What a shame so little Vaughan Wiiliams is heard in German concert halls

This is hands down the greatest performance of this magnificent work that I have ever experienced; the prolonged audience ovation at the end is well deserved. Maestro Andrew Davis is a master conductor, always providing tension in the singing musical line and inevitable forward motion, traits all too missing even in the best but lazy orchestras of today.

What a stupendous rendition I bow to all the artists and conductor. Nothing but hr Frankfurt symphony, great.

My favorite Vaughan Williams symphony. A splendid performance. Thank you!

Das ist die beste Aufführung von RVWs 5 ich hab’ gehört, fantastisch, ausgezeichnet, vielen Dank.

It´s so beautiful! Something very special.

That first movement is one of the most perfectly constructed in the history of the form.

Just love this symphony, and the performance here is sublime. There is something mesmerising about the music, full of imagery - gentle breeze, on a warm summers day. It's also worth acknowledging the audience for giving the silence space at the end.

Remarkable and famous peaceful ending.

One of the favorite compositions of the late British music educator Peter G. Fletcher (1936-1996)

Magnifique !

20:37 That"s so amazing😭😭

I heard this piece played by the RundFunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin last night with Sir Andrew Davis conducting. He is very consistent with his style with this piece, he conducted it very similarly to this performance, and I especially like how the "Benediction" at the end of the Passicaglia (35:40) is gently faded to the conclusion. He holds that silence at the end. Very peaceful!

Ar the first peeformance of this very great work in 1943, at its conclusion instead of applauding the audience sat in silence for three minutes before applauding- they had been overwhelmed by it. This was reported in newspapers at the time.

Quite wonderful. What a beautiful performance of one of the greatest symphonies by an English composer.

This is the best performance of this symphony on YT. The orchestra plays splendidly and Davis is superb. I hope they will programme more works by RVW; the 6th symphony I rate as one of the greatest of the 20th C.

So beautiful

The greatest symphony of the 20th century.

This is the greatest performance of this sublime work I ever hope to hear.

I have always liked Andrew Davis' "way" with Vaughan Williams, and here the FRSO shows its versatility by turning in a very idiomatic performance under his leadership. This symphony is one of the most purely beautiful in sound and emotion, communicating a feeling of serenity and assurance of purpose. It is always a joy to hear, and this production is a triumph all around!

Such a wonderful rendition! One of the best performances of this otherworldly symphony. Davis is reverential, deriving his emotional appeal with such a balanced, yet subtly passionate performance. He should reprise this in Gloucester Cathedral, where his Thomas Tallis was breathtakingly beautiful.

RVW saw himself as a Bard for the English people. He predicted WW2 in his 4th Symphony, which is full of violence and fear - really ugly music, a warning of what was to come. When it did come he gave the people his 5th. Full of beauty, serenity and peace - just what the people needed at the most dangerous time of their lives.

This was a tremendous performance! I was intrigued to hear what a central German orchestra, from which I have heard noble performances of Bruckner and Mahler, would make of such a quintessential English composer as Vaughan Williams and with such a very Anglicised symphony as this (which I believe to be the most beautiful (and spiritual) symphony ever written). Interesting that VW dedicated the symphony to Sibelius, who said he loved it. My gold standard of this symphony has been Andre Previn with the LSO on RCA from the 1970s. That was truly ecstatic and I recommend it wholeheartedly, if you can find the CD remasterings anywhere. But I was agreeably surprised how close the Frankfurt orchestra came to that in this live performance. Andrew Davis has certainly coached them well into the English mellifluous more legato mode of playing, with just the right lilt in the Scherzo. Bravo!

I love this symphony - gotta love what a very different sounding orchestra to those which normally play it bring to the table here. Depth of sound and discipline levels are huge - but that ethereal shimmering Vaughan Williams is not lost. This is really good stuff.

beautiful performance and so sensitively conducted! So wonderful to see a German audience (especially the young boy in the front!) so captivated - ironically the symphony is filled with VW's experiences in the 2 wars. What a genius! Eine wunderschone Vorstellung - es freut mich so sehr das eine deutsche Audienz hatte sie so geliebte!

Well done BRAVO. BRAVO the second. Score is as it is written and is expressive. Thanks to all of You. Miestro. Keep looking you'll find more and become a full symphony and play PHILHARMONIC

More than enough to disprove the infamous "Das Land ohne musik": indeed, Great Britain has a plethora of amazing composers, Vaughan-Williams and Elgar being only the tip of the iceberg. Sublime music.

Wonderful! Extraordinary conduction, impossible not to be emotional at this masterpiece!

Rest in peace, maestro!

One of the finest performances of this work I've ever heard.

RVW gets a lot of stick from so-called musical experts but they are idiots. RVW wrote incredibly moving music. I love this symphony and the Romanza is such a great movement. How to write the most beautiful descending scale.

Frank Lloyd Wright said that designing buildings is the second greatest artistic endeavor. The first: designing a symphony RVW was without peer

Performed this just last weekend. Such a deep and moving piece. Difficult not to get emotional playing the third movement.

*Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)* *Symphony No. 5 in D Major (1943)* 00:28 *I. Preludio* 11:57 *II. Scherzo* 17:20 *III. Romanza* 28:52 *IV. Passacaglia* 39:10 *Applause* *Frankfurt Radio Symphony* *Sir Andrew Davis, conductor* _Alte Oper_ _Frankfurt, Germany 🇩🇪 May 13, 2016_

The opening of the first movement always stops me in my tracks. It’s utterly electrical. You can almost see static particles vibrating in the air. It’s as though the strings open a portal to a mythical land lost to time. Stunning!

The film composer John Powell spoke today of how much he loved this symphony. As a huge fan of his work, I was delighted to discover a lot of similarity between this and his music, and I look forward to listening to this many more times and exploring more of Vaughan-Williams’s work.

Too bad we don't hear this exquisite symphony performed on the continent. Apart from Elgar British modern music is - certainly in Belgium - absent.

What a lovely performance of this great symphony. Andrew Davis just "gets" Vaughan Williams.

This is a remarkable orchestra. It responds to conductors who elicit an appreciation of the finer points in a nuanced and honest style .. hence we can enjoy lovely performances. Thank you for sharing.

A faultless performance of this great masterpiece. Thank you for posting.

I have to admit that I don't always get RVW, but I love this symphony! The modes and the changes take my breath away. It goes somewhere.

Such a Beauty 🙏

00:29 Preludio 11:55 Scherzo 17:20 Romanza 28:52 Passacaglia

My favourite and the most beautiful symphony of all time

written in time of war VW saw this work as a vision of the peace that we must hold dear. Wonderful playing by the orchestra and the tv recording is superb.