THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

From R. Vaughan Williams,
The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.

April 26 [1938?]

Dear Moore

As I daresay you know we had a visit from Timothy the other day and we liked him so much. He is evidently very musical – Besides looking at his compositions I asked him to play me something and he played me some Chopin very musically and with a kind of dogged determination which showed great strength of character and incidentally reminded me much of his father’s playing. His music – though of course still on the simple and small scale, showed a sureness of touch and technical power which I thought remarkable for his age. I wish that many of my pupils at the R.C.M. who are much older had such a grasp. He has evidently been very well taught. It is difficult, of course, to say at present how much original thought there is – one does not expect it, or indeed wish for it, at his absorbent age: but I did see a feeling for beauty and a sense of style. I like best his latest part-song and also his early choral tune of which he now professes to be ashamed, but of which he has no need to be.
He tells me he is keen to write for orchestra and I have suggested to him that he should write something for his school band since when all’s said and done the best way of acquiring mastery is the often painful and bitter experience of `trying it on the dog’.
Yrs

R. Vaughan Williams