A new biography that paints the most comprehensive and factually accurate picture of the composer to date.

Ralph Vaughan Williams ranks among the busiest, most influential, and consistently popular British musicians of his time. Throughout his extensive career - as a composer, conductor, editor, scholar, folk music collector, teacher, author, administrator, and philanthropist - he worked tirelessly to improve the standards and quality of British musical life. His dedicated industriousness and careful attention to musical detail helped him shape an impressive and original expressive language, based on a deep understanding of musical history and tradition, which has become known through performances like the Tallis Fantasia, The Lark Ascending, A London Symphony, the Songs of Travel, and the Serenade to Music.

Drawing on recent research and newly accessible scores and correspondence, author Eric Saylor combines in his biography of Vaughan Williams an exploration of the composer's life - including new insights into his early career, his military service in the Great War, and his relationships with the women he loved and married - with chapters that examine his vast body of work, spanning from hymns to operas, from solo concertos to music for independent bands, and possibly the best symphonic cycle of the twentieth century. The result reveals the complexity of Vaughan Williams's artistic persona, a portrayal that often contrasts with the genial "Uncle Ralph" image known to the public. This contemporary re-evaluation of his life and works offers a concise and engaging overview, positioning Vaughan Williams as an artist of rare skill, sensitivity, and human insight.

Pages: 360, Dimensions: 22.6x22.6cm