THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.

Nov 6 [1934]

Dear Arthur

Thank you very much for your letter¹ – as a matter of fact what you said set me thinking hard with the result that I had already made an alteration – I can’t cut out that recapitulation of the 2^nd subject slow at the end – but I have led up to it differently – I realize that that scrabble which I thought w^d sound brilliant was merely fussy – & the sudden pp was wrong – now I have made a more emotional climax and a gradual diminuendo to the soft end. So now we have the 2^nd subject for 1^st time & vigorous lead up to by a scrabble & 2^nd time soft & slow led down to by a dim – I believe that will be all right.
I am going to alter the end of the scherzo – but cannot yet see the right way to do it. I have cut about 10 bars out of the slow mov^t.
I cannot yet see my way to alter the finale & at present it seems all right to me.
You mustn’t mind think that your advice has not been valuable because I have not exactly followed it – when I give advice to my pupils I tell them that they can do one of 3 things
(a) accept it blindly – bad
(b) reject it kindly – bad but not so bad
(c) think out a 3^rd course for themselves – sound.

Yrs with much gratitude

R. Vaughan Williams

1. Bliss had apparently attended a play-through of the Fourth Symphony at the Royal College of Music on November 2nd, by Nora Day and Vally Lasker, at which Adrian nBoult was also present (See also VWL1323 and VWL1319). VW found his advice sound.