Vaughan Williams: A Life in Photographs [Hardcover]

Jerrold Northrop Moore (Author), Ursula Vaughan Williams (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 24, 1992

Ralph Vaughan Williams was one of the most significant English composers of this century and a key architect of the English Musical Renaissance. Much from his prodigious output has entered the standard repertoire, and he is well-known for a number of major works, including the Tallis Fantasia, Serenade to Music, and the Fifth Symphony. Here is an entirely novel view of Vaughan Williams, his music and his life. Using techniques originated in his Elgar: A Life in Photographs, Jerrold Northrop Moore has drawn photographs from family albums (many hitherto unpublished), from the great photographic artists of the earlier twentieth century, and from newspaper and magazine files to build a fascinating illustrated portrait of the composer. The visual images are set with captions, many of them quotations from Ursula Vaughan Williams's unique biography, RVW.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`not just a picture album, although the pictures are lovely ... The text, liberally sprinkled with extracts of correspondence and recollections, is pithy and always collates with relevant pictures. A beautifully-produced, coffee-table sized book, giving a real panorama of the man, his music and, especially, the world in which he lived.' Classical Music

`this book is certainly pleasant to dip into' David Mellor, Daily Telegraph

`This is a gem of a book, informally but lucidly charting Vaughan Williams' personal and professional life. It is compiled with skill and affection by a scholar, enlivened by the writings of the composer, his friends and colleagues, and illuminated by a wealth of photographs, many of them published for the first time.' Music Teacher

`...a wonderful photographic record of the life of composer Vaughan Williams. ...The author, musicologist Jerrold Northrop Moore worked closely with the composer's widow Ursula to provide a unique record.' Southern Evening Echo

`It is a little like having a Vaughan Williams' theme park in your armchair. The book does tell the story of the composer's life simply and accurately, and will be a perfect adjunct to the heavier works on RVW for those enthusiasts wishing to have a visual record of his 86 years. It would also make an admirable introduction for a younger reader. Simon Heffer, The Times

` The very publication of the book reflects the growing interest in RVW's music in the last decade, the rush by great conductors to record it, and the acknowledgement by critics the RVW is a towering, rather than a middling, composer. Books such as this encourage more people to go on the civilising voyage of discovery through the nine symphonies, the choral works, the operas and concerti. Simon Heffer, The Times

` there are some splendid snaps to be found that bring out the physical might and spiritual charm of RVW, both of which qualities can be detected in the scale and warmth of his music. Not least among them is the avuncular picture of him and his cat, which seems to sum up how very ordinary an Englishman this extraordinary man was.' Simon Heffer, The Times

'the pictures remain a fascinating record of a musico-social culture so very close to our own time and geography and yet so remote in spirit' Michael White, The Independent on Sunday

'not just a picture album ... The text, liberally sprinkled with extracts of correspondence and rcollections, is pithy and always collates with relevant pictures. A beautifully-produced, coffee-table sized book, giving a real panorama of the man, his music and, especially, the world in which he lived.' Classical Music, January 1993

'With the aid of many previously unseen photographs Jerrold Northrop Moore takes us through these times, painting a full portrait of this great English composer.' This England, Spring, 1993

About the Author

A leading musicologist, Jerrold Northrop Moore's publications for OUP include: Edward Elgar: Letters of a Lifetime (Clarendon Press, 1990) Edward Elgar: The Windflower Letters (Clarendon Press, 1989); Elgar and his Publishers 2 vols (1987); Edward Elgar: A Creative Life (Oxford Paperbacks, 1987). His Elgar: A Life in Photographs (OUP, 1972) is o/p.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 121 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 24, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198162960
• ISBN-13: 978-0198162964
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,756,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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