Symphony no. 3 (cd)

Radio 3 Record Review
Recording of the Week
6th June 2026

Gramophone Magazine
July 2026
Editor's Choice

London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Antonio Pappano

Copland: Symphony No. 3
Walker, George: Sinfonia No. 5 "Visions"

This exceptional release from LSO Live pairs two vital, large-scale American orchestral masterworks that look at the human spirit through very different lenses. Under the baton of Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, the London Symphony Orchestra delivers razor-sharp, texturally uncompromising readings of works forged in times of deep cultural intensity.

Aaron Copland's monumental Symphony No. 3, written during the twilight of World War II, stands as an affirmative monument to a nation eyeing brighter horizons. Moving across vast, sweeping musical landscapes and intense rhythmic drives, its final movement famously absorbs his iconic Fanfare for the Common Man to build a triumphant, hopeful finale.

In stark, devastating contrast sits George Walker's Sinfonia No. 5, "Visions". As the final completed work by the groundbreaking African-American composer, this unrelentingly modernist piece serves as a blistering, angry protest against racial violence—written specifically as a tribute to the victims of the 2015 Charleston church shooting. Suffused with jagged, splintered harmonies and restless energy, it provides a crucial space for raw reflection.

"Copland's Third Symphony is so well suited to Pappano's temperament and dare I say it this live performance (which I attended) comes over even better on disc." — Gramophone Magazine, July 2026