Excellent article in the Graun on-line today about RVW. Didn't know it's the great man's 150th anniversary this year and very glad indeed it is since that'll mean a lot of airplay of his great, great music and appreciative articles, like this one by Andrew Manze (who's described as a conductor, but who I know better as an outstanding violinist, having got a couple of CDs of him doing the business with Handel.) Big anniversaries often involve a sense of a reputation shifting, and I reckon Vaughan Williams is moving into universal acceptance as one of the 20th century greats in international terms.
Astonishing to think that back in 1958 he was being dismissed by the critics as passé. Good example of the stupidity of 'received critical opinion' if you ever needed one.
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