San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Vaughan Williams
Music lovers tend to think we have Ralph Vaughan Williams’ number, because the characteristic traits of his style — the pastoral mood, the reliance on folk songs and modal scales — are so distinctive and so pervasive. And although we’re not wrong, there’s more to his music than that description encompasses, and the proof is in this handsome new release from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Peter Oundjian. The collection of four works admittedly leads from weakness, with the cloying sentimentality of the “Serenade to Music.” But as it proceeds, more rewarding aspects of the composer’s voice emerge, and Oundjian understands clearly how to bring those out without slighting the familiar thumbprints. There are the strong-boned grace of the Oboe Concerto, with soloist Sarah Jeffrey, and the quiet elegance of “Flos Campi,” for chorus and solo viola. But the most rewarding surprise here is saved for last, with Louis Lortie’s performance — by turns crashing and limpid — of the Piano Concerto, a rich and compelling piece that doesn’t seem to merit the obscurity it’s fallen into. — Joshua Kosman