From Publishers Weekly
It is to be questioned whether a new study of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) is called for, when a couple of good biographies are already available, including one by his widow, Ursula, and Michael Kennedy's excellent book on the music. But journalist and author Heffer (Nor Shall My Sword: The Reinvention of England), who seems to have no special musical training (which his subject would probably have wryly appreciated) has done a thoroughly workmanlike job of evoking the composer's peculiarly English ethos. VW (as he is known in England) set out consciously to be an English composer rather than a member of any international group or movement, and though there were critics who derided what they saw as his parochiality, his music, Heffer observes, has survived with remarkable strength, some of it now even seen as prophetic. Heffer is particularly insightful about VW's last symphonies, the unaccountably neglected piano concerto and his long and constantly thwarted ambition to compose operas that would hold their place in the repertory. But Heffer has nothing much to add, in this slim volume, to what is already known of the life. (If only some scholar could unearth a more complete account of VW's period of study with Ravel in Paris surely one of the unlikeliest matchings of two great composers ever made.) What Heffer has done very convincingly is to set forth eloquently what makes VW's music not only internationally admired, but a source of particular pride and solace to his countrymen. Heffer concludes with an all-too-brief critical discography.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Along with his friend Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams led a 20th-century musical renaissance in England by rejecting continental influences in favor of native folksongs. Critics have often dismissed him as a conservative, "pastoral" composer, but in this compelling portrait by British political columnist Heffer, Vaughan Williams emerges as far more complex a kind of dogged genius, or "the right man in the right place at the right time," in his own words. A late bloomer, Vaughan Williams studied with Ravel in order to overcome a certain orchestral stodginess, and, in fact, his technique didn't find secure ground until he was well into his forties. By no means satisfied merely to repeat his past successes, Vaughan Williams challenged himself and his audiences with occasionally discomfiting music. Now over 40 years since his death, his nine symphonies and numerous choral works have found a cherished place in the hearts of his countrymen, and his works have been often performed and recorded by American orchestras as well. Heffer divides his slender text into eight chronological chapters, and his writing, though not at all technical, will engage both novice and cognoscenti. The lack of a complete works list makes the book less than an ideal reference source, and the selective discography is inadequate. Still, it is an excellent and approachable introduction to the admirable life and often remarkable works of this important 20th-century composer. Larry Lipkis, Moravian Coll., Bethlehem, PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
