From a British Pathé newsreel, Sir Henry Wood and the BBC Symphony make the first recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, a setting of an excerpt from The Merchant of Venice. This piece was written for and premiered by Sir Henry and the performers seen in this film. The recording was made on October 15, 1938, ten days after the first public performance:
(This is the latest in a series of arts-related videos that appear in this space each Monday and Wednesday.)