- Born
- Died
- Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams was perhaps the most important English composer of the 20th Century. His influence on the development of 20th Century music was immense. Benjamin Britten and numerous film composers (Jerry Goldsmith, etc.) owe a lot to him. He created a truly contemporary idiom whose roots reached back to Tudor times and folk music.
He first made a name as one of the leading collector/researcher of traditional English folk music at the turn of the century. He worked also as organist, conductor, lecturer, teacher, editor and writer. He studied under Sir Hubert Parry, Max Bruch and Maurice Ravel. He had a life-long friendship with Gustav Holst, and if one listens carefully one can hear crossover 'hommages' in their works. His professional career spanned more than six decades, with nine Symphonies, several concertos, a ballet, a few operas and countless choral works. The latter are often performed in church services, not bad for an agnostic composer. In 1941, at an age most people have retired (almost 70), he entered the movies with the score to Michael Powell's '49th Parallel'. He composed 11 motion picture scores. Out of his score to 'Scott of the Antarctic' he developed his majestic 7th Symphony.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Guenther Koegebehn <100662.1447@compuserve.com>
- SpousesUrsula Wood(February 7, 1953 - August 26, 1958) (his death)Adeline Fisher(October 9, 1897 - May 10, 1951) (her death)
- His first name is pronounced "Rafe"
- He allegedly declined Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the King's Honours List but later accepted the Order of Merit in the 1935 King's Honours List for his services to music.
- He was awarded the O.M. (Order of Merit) in the 1935 King's Honours List for his services to music.
- He is mentioned in the film The Lady in the Van (2015), in which his real-life widow Ursula is one of the characters.
- In the winter of 1907-08, believing his music needed "a little French polish", Vaughan Williams studied orchestration with Maurice Ravel in Paris.
- [on his angry Symphony No. 4]: I don't know whether I like it, but it's what I meant.
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