A Vaughan Williams premiere in Liverpool
Composers Datebook · Sep 30, 2026 · 2:00
Composers Datebook · Sep 30, 2026 · 2:00
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Even during the bombing of London by the German Air Force, the London Blitz of World War Two, the BBC Proms Concerts continued.
True, in 1941 a German incendiary bomb did destroy the long-time home of the Proms, Queen’s Hall on Langham Place, but, not to be deterred, the Proms simply moved to the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington.
Wartime Proms programs included this printed notice: “In the event of an Air Raid Warning the audience will be informed immediately, so that those who wish to take shelter either in the building or in public shelters outside, may do so, The concert will then continue.”
Talk about pluck!
In 1944, British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams completed a new oboe concerto to be premiered at a Proms concert, but a German V-1 rocket that landed dangerously near the Albert Hall led to an early end to that Proms season, since the V-1 rockets, unlike the German bombers, didn’t allow enough warning time to clear the hall.
So, on today’s date in 1944, the new Vaughan Williams concerto was premiered not in London, but in Liverpool, with soloist Leon Goossens and Malcolm Sargent conducting the Liverpool Philharmonic.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): Oboe Concerto; David Theodore, oboe; London Symphony; Bryden Thomson, conductor; Chandos 8594
