corrections in 1969, and in 2008 OUP issued a new edition, edited by Peter Horton, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the composer's death. Reception In a survey of Vaughan Williams's nine symphonies, Elliott Schwartz writes: Hubert Foss comments that public appreciation of the symphony "was more immediate than that of perhaps any other single work by the composer". The response of music critics was generally enthusiastic. The anonymous reviewer in The Times wrote that the symphony "belongs to that small body of music that, outside of late Beethoven, can properly be described as transcendental … this is music not only of contemplation but of benediction". A grudging note was struck by William Glock, a proponent of avant-garde music, who commented in The Observer that the symphony was "like the work of a distinguished poet who has nothing very new to say, but says it in exquisitely flowing language". Neville Cardus wrote, "The Fifth Symphony contains the most benedictory and consoling music of our time." When the first recording came out in 1944 (see below) The Observer was more welcoming than Glock had been the year before, saying that the Fifth was to the Fourth Symphony as The Tempest is to King Lear … ideal beauty." After its premiere at a Prom concert in June 1943, the symphony was given in each of the following four seasons, conducted by Boult (1944 and 1947) and Basil Cameron (1945 and 1946). Seventeen further performances were given in subsequent Prom seasons between 1949 and 2012. In 1994 the composer Anthony Payne wrote of the symphony: Recordings The symphony was first recorded within a year of the premiere, under the auspices of the British Council. More than thirty recordings have been issued subsequently. Notes, references and sources Notes References Sources Further reading Dickinson, A.E.F. (February 1945). "Vaughan Williams's Fifth Symphony." The Music Review, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-12. Dineen, Murray (2003). "Vaughan Williams's Fifth Symphony: Ideology and Aural Tradition." In Byron Adams and Robin Wells, eds., Vaughan Williams Essays (Ashgate), pp. 17-27. Douglas, Roy (January 1963). "Vaughan Williams and His Fifth Symphony." Record Times, vol. 5, no. 12, p. 2. Foss, Hubert (August 1950). "Vaughan Williams's D Major Symphony." Hallé, no. 27, pp. 12-15. Ottaway, Hugh (October 1953). "Vaughan Williams: Symphony in D and ' The Pilgrim's Progress '. A Comparative Note." The Musical Times, vol. 94, no. 1328, pp. 456-458. Ottaway, Hugh