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Composer Details
Ralph Vaughan Williams |
Birthdate
Country of origin
Great Britain
Web site
Biography
Born on 12 October 1872 in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, Great Britain.
Died on 26 August 1958 in London, Great Britain.
Sometimes credited as:
Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams
Vaughan Williams
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Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams was perhaps the most important English composer of the 20th Century. His influence on the development of 20th Century music was immense. Benjamin Britten and numerous film composers (Jerry Goldsmith, etc.) owe a lot to him. He created a truly contemporary idiom whose roots reached back to Tudor times and folk music.
He first made a name as one of the leading collector/researcher of traditional English folk music at the turn of the century. He worked also as organist, conductor, lecturer, teacher, editor and writer. He studied under Sir Hubert Parry, Max Bruch and Maurice Ravel. He had a life-long friendship with Gustav Holst, and if one listens carefully one can hear crossover "hommages" in their works. His professional career spanned more than six decades, with nine Symphonies, several concertos, a ballet, a few operas and countless choral works. The latter are often performed in church services, not bad for an agnostic composer. In 1941, at an age most people have retired (almost 70), he entered the movies with the score to Michael Powells "49th Parallel". He composed 11 motion picture scores. Out of his score to "Scott of the Antarctic" he developed his majestic 7th Symphony.
biography supplied by Guenther Koegebehn <100662.1447@compuserve.com>
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 View the filmo/discography of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
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