Ralph Vaughan Williams’ bitter symphony

Sinfonia antartica was the work of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams' Seventh Symphony .

It was composed in 1952 and met a mixed response on premiere in 1953 .

To this day it sits oddly in both Vaughan Williams ’ catalogue and the wider world of orchestral music.

It competes with Holst’s The Planets in its scope but has never been as popular.

Sinfonia antartica is a transitional work the starting point for Vaughan Williams' last few years of creativity.

Composer would go on to write two more symphonies before dying in 1958 .

The secrets of the symphony may yet still be revealed, as indeed might the meaning of his Eighth .