Vaughan Williams – Master Musicians Series

Eric Saylor

Oxford University Press

336pp (hb) £22.99

We’ve waited too long for a truly authoritative new Vaughan Williams biography from a leading scholar. Here it is, from the professor of music history at Drake University in Iowa. The sole regret is that Saylor’s clearly exhaustive research couldn’t have been expended on a volume of greater length than the ‘Master Musicians’ brand can allow. That’s life, but one deceptively small example makes the point: Saylor can mention only in passing the possibility that VW’S ‘London’ Symphony could have had HG Wells’s novel Tono-bungay as a prime (rather than partial) inspiration – an eminently arguable and seriously perception-changing proposition. Whatever, Saylor masterfully embraces the constraints of the ‘Master Musicians’ brief (including the necessity of separating out biography and music) without his highly readable prose ever seeming rushed. New material is expertly woven into familiar narratives – for example, revealing information on the earliest works is integrated into a convincing account of an uncertain young composer finding his feet. Vaughan Williams enthusiasts of all hues will want this; but prepare to be rendered breathless at the great man’s astonishing energy.

Andrew Green ★★★★★