Ralph Vaughan Williams

Roger Savage (University of Edinburgh)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born 12 Oct 1872
Died 26 Aug 1958
Activity 1892-1958

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Composer

Resources

Vaughan Williams' Works

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Ralph Vaughan Williams was the outstanding English composer of the generation between that of Parry, Stanford and Elgar before him and that of Walton, Tippett and Britten afterwards; also a conductor, composition teacher, lecturer on “national music”, folk-song collector and editor of works by Henry Purcell.

Descended on both sides of his family from the ranks of “the great and the good” stretching back several generations (Charles Darwin was a great uncle), Vaughan Williams was born into comfortable circumstances at Down Ampney in Gloucestershire in 1872. However, he lived almost all his life - with his first wife Adeline Fisher from 1897 until her death in 1951 and with his second Ursula Wood from 1953 until his own death five years later - either in London or less than 20 miles

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5455 words

Citation: Savage, Roger. "Ralph Vaughan Williams". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 August 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4529, accessed 23 November 2024.]