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Mon, 3 Jul 2000 10:14:15 +1000 |
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Richard Pennycuick wrote:
>I quickly did a mental check of some well-known C19 and C20 English
>composers and found Sirs Edward, William, Arthur, Malcolm and so on.
>There were others who missed out, for whatever reason - ... But surely
>Vaughan Williams and Holst would be on most people's list of great British
>composers, but neither got to be knighted. I imagine VW would not have
>been keen to keep saying, "It's pronounced RAFE!", but I remain intrigued.
>Is there a story here?
Our grumpiest Uncle Rafe refused a knighthood (as he also refused the
post of Master of the King's/Queen's Music) when he was sounded out about
the possibility. Holst is a different story: in truth, the composer's
greatest fame came after he died. There is generally a story behind the
awarding of gongs in the UK: they tend to come down with the rations to
critical favorites (Birtwistle, say) regardless of talent; but more public
artists tend only to get them when they fall on hard times (Arnold is the
classic eg here).
All the best,
Robert Clements <[log in to unmask]>
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