Ralph Vaughan Williams in Royal Festival Hall - 1952

from Southbank Centre Archive:

It was so exciting, my cousin, a regular at the Royal Festival Hall, agreed to take me along.  I had begged for the opportunity to attend a concert, which included a favourite, Ralph Vaughn Williams, Overture, "The Wasps".  A sudden silence, as an announcement informed, that the composer was in the box above our heads.  This was the occasion of his 80th birthday, I believe.  The great man accepted graciously the ovation of the audience.  The applause was thunderous.  It made my first visit a memorable one. 

cite as

Southbank Centre (ed.), Southbank Centre Archive. In Southbank Centre Archive. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1447088831711 accessed: 29 March, 2024 (Southbank Centre Archive, http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/about-us/history-and-archive/southbank-centre-archive)

location of experience: Royal Festival Hall

Listeners

Ralph Vaughan Williams
Composer
1872-1958

Listening to

hide composers
The Wasps
written by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Experience Information

Date/Time 1952
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Originally submitted by Liz Ford on Mon, 09 Nov 2015 17:07:11 +0000
Approved on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:38:15 +0000