Ralph Vaughan Williams

The English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was born at Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, on 12 October 1872 and died in London on 26 August 1958. Like many musicians, his earlier life included a spell as a church organist. Besides his notable English teachers of composition, he spent periods with Max Bruch and Maurice Ravel. From all this stemmed a flow of music which has included several masterpieces of 20th century English music.