Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy

Letter No.: 
VWL3399
May 13th 1956.

From R. Vaughan Williams,
10, Hanover Terrace,
Regents Park,
London, N.W.1.

Dear Michael,

Thank you so much for your fine notice of the concert.1 I am still worrying a little about the last movement I think the critics perhaps thought there were no tunes, because they could not hear them! So I am thinning down the percussion a bit – if John2 will allow me to, because it may be the Hittites3 who obscure the tunes, and a few bars less of phones and spiels won’t do any harm.
Love to Eslyn.
Yrs

RVW

1. The premiere of Symphony No. 8 (Catalogue of Works, 1955/3) had taken place on 2nd May at Manchester and Michael Kennedy had written a notice of it in the Daily Telegraph.
2. John Barbirolli.
3. A term (with Charterhouse overtones) which VW was using at this time for percussionists. See also VWL3404 where VW discusses his changes with Herbert Byard.

From:

To:

Names:

Subjects:

Places:

Musical works:

Location of original letter:

Shelfmark of original letter: 
MS Mus. 159, f.118
General notes: 

This letter reprinted in part in Michael Kennedy, Works of Vaughan Williams, p.385.

Format: 
Letter
Citation: 
Cobbe 678; Kennedy, Works of Vaughan Williams, p.385.
Original database number: 
560513