THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Dorking, Surrey.

12th September, 1951.

Dear John (if I may be allowed so to address you)

First, thank you very much for you letter about Stanley Bate, of which I will pass him on the substance.
Now, as regards myself, I see that you are doing me the great honour of performing all my Symphonies during your season, and this seems to me a good opportunity to overhaul them, and I have already started doing this.
Do tell me, quite frankly, any points either in construction, orchestration or anything else that occur to you which want alteration or revision.  With all your experience you must know rather more about it really than I do.
I shall be very grateful if you do this, and please be quite frank about it.  I am much too old to have my feelings hurt.
Yrs

R. Vaughan Williams.
(R. Vaughan Williams).

Sir John Barbirolli,
Columbia Concerts, Ltd.,
127a Oxford Rd., Manchester 1.

1. See VWL2277 and VWL2283 for further letters on this.