Vaughan Williams Today 4/4

This month, Donald Macleod takes a new look at one of Britain’s
best loved composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams, as part of Radio
3's 'Vaughan Williams Today' season - marking the 150th
anniversary of the composer’s birth. Over the course of four
weeks and twenty programmes, Donald will be delving into Vaughan
Williams' life story and work in intriguing detail, and he’ll
also be talking to some of the leading authorities on Vaughan
Williams to share and explore fresh perspectives on a variety of
overlooked and less well known aspects of his life and work,
forming a comprehensive and absorbing portrait of a composer
whose body of work has had such an enduring impact on British
cultural life.


In this, the final week of Composer of the Week’s landmark
series, Donald will focus primarily on the years 1948-1958, the
final decade of Vaughan Williams’ life. The composer was, by this
point recognised as the Grand Old Man of English music, and for a
younger generation of British composers had begun to represent
the establishment. He was also beginning to feel his age, but was
still managing to surprise critics with some of his new works,
and he showed little sign of slowing down, continuing to lead a
busy life, and launching into new endeavours too: foreign travels
which included a major tour of the US, a major house move, and,
following the death of Adeline, a second marriage. Donald will
also be speaking to Vaughan Williams experts Ceri Owen and Alain
Frogley about Adeline Fisher and Ursula Wood, Vaughan Williams
two wives, and about Vaughan Williams’ legacy, and the changing
reception to his music since his death.


Music Featured:


Symphony no. 6 in E minor - I. Allegro Prayer to the Father of
Heaven An Oxford Elegy (excerpt) Concerto Grosso for strings
Pilgrim’s Progress - House Beautiful Sons of Light - III. The
Messengers of Speech Four Last Songs 3 Impressions – II. The
Solent Songs of Travel Three Shakespeare Songs Romance in D flat
for harmonica & strings Old Hundredth Silence and Music
Symphony 7 ‘Sinfonia Antartica’ - III. Landscape - Lento Turtle
dove; Dark-Eyed Sailor; John Dory Symphony no 8 in D minor - II.
Scherzo alla marcia; III. Cavatina Vision of Aeroplanes Symphony
no. 9 in E minor - IV. Andante tranquillo Prelude on Three Welsh
Hymn Tunes Symphony no. 9 - II. Andante Sostenuto The Lover’s
Ghost Suite from 49th Parallel (excerpt) Nocturne: Whispers of
Heavenly Death A London Symphony (1913 version) – IV. Finale
(excerpt)


Presented by Donald Macleod Producer Sam Phillips


For full track listings, including artist and recording details,
and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after
broadcast) head to the series page
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0016rjd


And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve
featured on Composer of the Week here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z