6 - Wartime Tensions

Summary

Broadcasting in the Early Weeks of World War Two

Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 and Britain declared war on Germany two days later. Inevitably, serious music broadcasting was considered by the BBC’s senior management to be a lesser priority during the first weeks of the war: they believed lighter classics would be more likely to lift the spirits of listeners. Vaughan Williams was quick to pounce on this, and to make compelling arguments for presenting ‘the very greatest music’. He sent a blunt letter to Boult on 15 October 1939:

Dear Adrian

I want to say a word about the BBC programmes – I admit that after the deplorable start things got a little better – But this week they are almost as bad – second rate serious music is (in present circumstances) useless (Saint-Saëns, Goldmark etc.)

You have a great opportunity of putting the very greatest music (doubtless familiar) before an eager but undiscriminating public. The best music grips everyone – some really bad music grips certain people – This halfway house stuff grips nobody (I include among great music anything from Bach to a splendid marching tune)

Don’t say it’s not your department – It is your department – the country looks up to you as the leader of Broadcast music

Refuse to conduct or let your subordinates conduct anything that is not first rate

If they won’t listen to you threaten to resign – They would not dare to face such a scandal as that … The result is that the discriminating are tuning to Germany for their music and the undiscriminating are perforce thrown back on the loathsome noises of Mr Sandy MacPherson.

P.S. I have it in my mind to write to [Frederick] Ogilvie & the Times about this – but wd rather write to you first.

Vaughan Williams was as good as his word, sending a long letter to the Director-General of the BBC, Frederick Ogilvie, on 18 October 1939, enlarging on the points he had made in his letter to Boult, and stressing the BBC’s responsibility ‘for the cultural well-being of the country’. He continued:

It appears to me that one of the things we are fighting for is a free as opposed to a regimented culture. In that case we must prove that we have a culture worth fighting for.