As if desperate to sugar the pill of serious music with sex, quoted from stanley stewart

Thanks for that review Stanley - seems it will be an interesting documentary and maybe different from Tony Palmers film but i really get annoyed when they say 'serious music' - i think its phrases like that which put off potential listeners and though of course some music is serious but music goes through every emotion under the sun and serious is only one small part of it. Anyway wonder how downmarket the bbc will go to hook in more viewers- will be fascinating to find out !!

Bridcutt's film about Britten's Children was excellent and the book was even better. But surely there is a distinction between this and the relationships of VW. Britten's contact with the children involved in his performances was a subject shrouded in mystery and innuendo. Bridcutt made a responsible and unsensational attempt to discover the truth, using verbal evidence from those involved. The ladies in VW's life cannot be as significant in the development of his music. What's more, few of his female contemporaries can still be living and we are talking about a generation which did not make a habit of discussing such matters.
I fear that Friday's film may be full of unnecessary and distasteful speculation!

Seeing Stanley's reference to the Ken Russell film reminded me that I have not reported back on the DVD  which he recently sent me. (I hope you have received my email on the subject, Stanley.)

I thought the Ken Russell film was excellent, possibly more enjoyable than Tony Palmer's, mainly because of its original approach and its uncanny combination of music and images. I certainly had not seen it before, which is surprising since I normally watch out for that sort of thing.  I found that parts of the Tony Palmer film were predictable; it was possible to guess what was coming next. You could never say that about Ken! I loved the choice of images for the music, the involvement of the film crew (after the filming of a scene, the crew might be seen discussing the bits Ursula got wrong or being served drinks) and, of course, the huge part that Ursula played in the film. What a star she was! Some of those images of her were unforgettable: dancing with Ken (and then moving straight on to punks or whatever they were called at the time), wandering across all those different locations, sitting smoking in the cinema. Absolutely wonderful.

It was striking to see a much younger Ursula than the one in the Palmer film (but only 14 years earlier) and even more strikingly, a much more sprightly Lady Barbirolli than the very frail old lady in the recent film.

Ken Russell was (is!) such a talented film-maker. I certainly felt that his concise 55 minutes said more than the rather sprawling Palmer film, good as that was.

I certainly recommend the Ken film to anyone who gets the chance to see it. Many thanks  to Stanley for giving me the opportunity!

  Yes, Descombes, the SBS/Ken Russell RVW was 1985.      A scribbled notation on the faded video spine misled me.  However, I got Russell's biography 'A British Picture' off the shelves.   It was published in 1989 and, in the chapter A Year At The Opera, he talks about a few years earlier than the publication year when he returned from Hollywood; devotes five pages to his meeting with Ursula VW and their close relationship during the subsequent filming.  He also appeared in the film  and she took naturally to the camera (more than he did, I thought) and, as you say, the camaraderie between them and the crew gave a spontaneity to the action.   

I got your acknowledgement of the DVD, thanks, but not the feedback after viewing so I'm glad this wasn't overlooked by default.   

Well, The P of VW was broadcast last night (and is repeated tonight in case any of you missed it), and no comments from anyone? 

Was it that good/bad?

Seems to be getting quite good 'reviews' at t'other place.

I've recorded it and hope to watch it over the weekend. The Guardian had a mostly positive review, but I'm really waiting to hear Stanley Stewart's verdict: something of an authority on VW and also on documentary making, I think!

I was going to post my reactions to this but George's post has made them redundant since I agree with all that he has said !

"The Sixth Symphony (1944-47) indeed proved that the Fifth was no concluding benediction to his career. Once more the gritty dissonance of the Fourth Symphony is present in the fast movements, but there is also an extraordinary Epilogue, pianissimo and veiled throughout, which some critics after the premiere (conducted by Boult in 1948) suggested, was a portrait of a world laid waste through an atomic holocaust. Vaughan Williams testily commented: "I suppose it never occurs to these people that a man might just want to write a piece of music."

Andrew Burn, liner notes for the Complete Symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, EMI (2000).