THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

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

February 10th 1956.

Dear Glorious John¹

I expect it was really your magic, but if you approve, I propose not to scrap the symphony.¹ I can’t thank you enough for all you and your players did.
We send our love to Evelyn and to you,
Yrs

RVW

1.  An accolade derived by VW from Walter Scott’s The Pirate, where Claud Halcro addresses the poet John Dryden thus, and from Borrow’s Lavengro, where Lavengro addresses the publisher John Murray similarly. See Roger Savage, “Three Glorious Johns”, Journal of the RVW Society, 32 (Feb. 2005), 5-6.
2.  Barbirolli and the Hallé had run through the Eighth Symphony, Catalogue of Works 1955/3, for nine hours for VW while he was in Manchester preparing the St Matthew Passion – see R.V.W.: a biography, p.369.