Vaughan Williams
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Product Description
Product Description
A tweedy purveyor of folklore; too many larks ascending and too much Linden Lea: no composer's work has ever been more cruelly stereotyped than that of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The truth could hardly have been more different: that folksy feel masked the highest sophistication, that countrified air the most audacious experimentation. If, unlike his Germanizing contemporary Elgar, Vaughan Williams did indeed open the way to a distinctively English Music, his was an Englishness which owed nothing to narrow-mindedness or lack of artistic enterprise.
Fifty years after his death in 1958, Vaughan Williams' reputation is greater than ever before and there is a resurgence of interest in his music. Re-issued to coincide with this anniversary, Simon Heffer's perceptive book lends weight to the increasingly compelling case for Vaughan Williams' recognition as the most important English composer of the twentieth century.
'A vivid and appealing picture of an irresistibly likeable figure ... I enjoyed this little book enormously.' Spectator
'An affectionate, accurate and shrewd account of Vaughan Williams' life ... the author's astute commentary on it betokens close and knowledgeable acquaintance.' Sunday Telegraph
About the Author
Simon Heffer (born 1960) has been since 2005 an Associate Editor and columnist of the Daily Telegraph. In his extensive career as a journalist he has also been the Deputy Editor and Political Correspondent for The Spectator, the Deputy Editor of the Daily Telegraph (1994-1995) and columnist with the Daily Mail. He is also the author of six books, including his biographies of Enoch Powell (Like the Roman) and Vaughan Williams, both being reissued in Faber Finds.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a reasonable introduction to the life and works of Ralph Vaughan Williams. I purchased it with great interest as he is one of my favourite composers but I was a little disappointed as this book didn't tell me a single thing about the composer that I didn't already know.
Maybe I was expecting too much. As a general, unpretentious, survey for those who know little about RVW it is fine but not recommended for the initiated.
The charming photograph of RVW and Foxy, his favourite cat, on the front cover, is something in its favour however!
Maybe I was expecting too much. As a general, unpretentious, survey for those who know little about RVW it is fine but not recommended for the initiated.
The charming photograph of RVW and Foxy, his favourite cat, on the front cover, is something in its favour however!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As someone who knew absolutey nothing about him I found this book fascinating. It left me feeling like I really did know Vaughan Williams and what is more that I would want to know him. Surviving the first world war as he did through active service he made me realise just how many great men like him must have perished. A great and informative read and I would recommend it to others on the basis that you learn more about his music and also his life .I am so impressed by his willingness to learn from others, his ability to instill "Englishness" to his music without great pomp and any leaning toward the xenophobic. The lasting impression I have of him is of the great value he placed on his friends his relationships and his enduring sense of duty to humanity through his life and his music and the fact that this did not stifle his creative spirit as he grew older. When I look at the photograph on the front cover of the book now it is like I am seeing an old family friend.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I think that the two previous reviewers are right in their judgements but slightly miss the point for the average reader of reviews looking for enlightenment. Certainly this is a slender volume. Well-researched but with no great revelations. Even so, I had enormous pleasure from reading such an affectionate and well-written introduction to VWs life and work. The ideal reader would probably be someone who has heard and loved a few pieces but wants to know what to listen to next. With any great composer who moves us, we want to understand the context of their work as this can profoundly enhance our enjoyment and understanding of the music. Simon Heffer's book serves this purpose extremely well. It is clear that he is a genuine lover of the music and is especially good on the profoundly interesting (but less frequently performed) works that saw VWs musical language transformed in the run-up to the Second World War. For the "life" others may feel that VWs personal relationships are not scrutinised for the sort of juicy details that biographers seem to obsess over. A recent TV biography spent most of its running time deconstructing his relationships with many beautiful young women but managed to avoid entirely the absolutely central friendship with Gustav Holst. Heffer makes no such mistake and we really do get to understand what influenced his musical development. Heffer's excellent book sent me off to listen to a couple of works that I did not know and which proved to hold exactly the revelations promised. He also reminded me of works that I had not listened to for a while and sent me back to listen again with fresh insight. Michael Kennedy and Ursula Vaughan Williams herself have both produced excellent books for those who want to dig deeper but this is the best short introduction I know.
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