"Martyn Brabbins rounds off his Vaughan Williams symphony cycle for Hyperion with a most impressive account of the Nninth. His is a memorably lucid conception ... Above all, the symphony emerges as a newly minted, profoundly organic whole; indeed, there's an exploratory zeal and infectiously questing spirit about this powerful performance that I feel confident will stand the test of time ... The Sinfonia antartica, too, brings plenty to admire"

"Martyn Brabbins, fresh from the experience of conducting the film score that grew alongside this symphony, strives for a bold balance: cohesion, yes, but with each musical 'scene' given the time and loving attention it needs to open out like a cinematic vista ... The superb recording helps, as do some wonderful solo performances, not least soprano Elizabeth Watts leading a truly chilling pack of ice-sirens ... This could be just the recording both these symphonies need"

"This very fine account of the Ninth wraps up a cycle that has been a distinguished contribution to the discography of Vaughan Williams' symphonies. Martyn Brabbins has consistently displayed - as he does on this disc - great empathy for the music; he knows how to make it work. His cycle has been a very fine achievement and he's been aided and abetted at every turn by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. They've played all the symphonies very well indeed and their collective skills are again on display on this disc"

"The final disc of Ralph Vaughan Williams's symphonies by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martyn Brabbins ... is too good to miss. With its wind machine and wordless women's chorus, cymbal crashes and fortissimo brass and organ, Vaughan Williams's Sinfonia antartica is a vivid aural depiction of the vast snowscape referred to in the title ... This seventh symphony (with soprano Elizabeth Watts and BBC Symphony Chorus) is paired with the melancholy, visionary Symphony No 9, bringing this consistently excellent cycle to a close. After recent sets by Mark Elder and the Hallé, and Andrew Manze and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, this is up there as essential listening: the BBCSO at their formidable best"

Vurdering: Diapason d'or