Synopsis

It was on today’s date in 1922 that English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams conducted the American premiere of his Symphony No. 3 (Pastoral) at the Litchfield County music festival in Norfolk, Connecticut.

It was his first trip to the U.S., and he reacted to American landscapes and customs with wonder and amusement. He found the Woolworth building in New York more impressive than Niagara Falls, writing to his friend Gustav Holst, “I’ve come to the conclusion that the Works of Man terrify me more than the Works of God.” He was also bemused by America’s summertime fondness for chicken salad, which he called “beyond powers of expression.”

As for the premiere American performance of his Pastoral Symphony, he reported it had been “excellent.”

Vaughan Williams would return to the United States twice more before his death in 1958. By that time his music had become very popular in American. George Szell in Cleveland, Rafael Kubelik in Chicago, and Dimtri Mitropoulos in New York were all in heated competition to secure rights to the American premiere of his Symphony No. 7, for example.

Spoiler alert: Kubelik and the Chicago Symphony won out.

Music Played in Today's Program

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): Symphony No. 3 (Pastoral); Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Kees Bakels, conductor; Naxos 8.550733