THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

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

March 29th 1958.

My dear Michael,

Thank you so much for liking the new Symph.¹  I have made a few alterations in the scoring and in the metronome marks – and specially the last movement where I have speeded it up a bit all through and made a short cut, of about fifteen bars in the middle, I am sure it is an improvement.
I do hope that long and tiring expedition was not bad for Eslyn.
I wonder if you disliked the Carmelites² as much as we did?  We must meet on Wednesday, at the party if not at the concert.³
Love from both of us to both of you.
Love

R⁴
& U.

1.  The Ninth Symphony (Catalogue of Works 1957/4) of which Kennedy had attended a rehearsal on 21 March.
2.  The VWs had recently heard  Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites (1957).  See VWL3377.
3.  The first performance of the symphony.
4.  This letter is printed in part in Kennedy, Works of Vaughan Williams, p. 382.