Views from the podium

‘In my view, Vaughan Williams is unquestionably one of the great symphonists of the 20th century,’ says Sir Mark Elder. ‘I mean, really important. I would put his symphonies absolutely alongside those of Sibelius and Shostakovich.’

Elder’s journey through these works has been supplemented by many other explorations of the Vaughan Williams canon. Sir Antonio Pappano’s probings are still in the early stages, but his experience of conducting Symphonies Nos 4, 5 and 6 has him deeply intrigued by the composer’s elusive character. ‘I’m shocked, surprised and in awe,’ he says. ‘It’s really important music with a colour all its own. And yet the man who comes across is so contradictory. Vaughan Williams was at least two people. You contrast the Fifth Symphony with the Fourth and Sixth – it’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Tranquility versus a violence that’s expressed with such punch and dissonance, in