THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

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

May 4th 1957.

Dear Mr Fiske,

Thank you very much for inviting me to talk about Elgar; I am sorry not to be able to accept.  I think I have said most of what I have to say about him, and, as I have to be away a good deal this month, and I am going abroad for most of June, I do not feel that I have time to spare to think of, and prepare the sort of material I should wish to use for such a talk.  I say again, I am so sorry.¹
Yours sincerely,

R Vaughan Williams

1.  VW was in fact persuaded to contribute to the Elgar centenary tribute.  The producer, Charles Parker, sent a script (see VWL3488) to UVW in 1959 recalling: ‘…at first he was very reluctant to be recorded, although of course when he finally agreed to do so he was quite superb and I in fact used the recording for the very end of the programme’.