THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

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

May 13th 1956.

Dear Michael,

Thank you so much for your fine notice of the concert.¹ I am still worrying a little about the last movement I think the critics perhaps thought there were no tunes, because they could not hear them! So I am thinning down the percussion a bit – if John² will allow me to, because it may be the Hittites³ who obscure the tunes, and a few bars less of phones and spiels won’t do any harm.
Love to Eslyn.
Yrs

RVW

1. The premiere of Symphony No. 8 (Catalogue of Works, 1955/3) had taken place on 2nd May at Manchester and Michael Kennedy had written a notice of it in the Daily Telegraph.
2. John Barbirolli.
3. A term (with Charterhouse overtones) which VW was using at this time for percussionists. See also VWL3404 where VW discusses his changes with Herbert Byard.