Born Oct. 12, 1872, in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire; died Aug. 26, 1958, in London. British composer and organist; active figure in musical society. Collector and researcher in the field of English musical folklore.

Vaughan Williams was a student of H. Parry and C. Stanford. He was a professor of composition at the Royal College of Music (from 1921) and was a professor of music at several English universities. He was one of the founders of the modern English school of composition—the so-called English musical renaissance—and he affirmed the need to create works based on English musical folklore and the traditions of the old masters of the 16th and 17th centuries (for example, his Three Norfolk Rhapsodies, the opera Hugh the Drover, and Fantasia on a Theme by Tallis). His symphonic and choral works (for example, A London Symphony), in which the use of folk musical art and modern devices of composition are combined, are the most significant of his creations. A large-scale quality of concepts and a tendency toward humanism and patriotism are essential features of Vaughan Williams’ creative work. His principal works include five operas, three ballets, oratorios and cantatas, nine symphonies (1910-58) and other orchestral pieces, instru-mental concerti, chamber works, ensembles, piano and organ works, and choral works. He arranged folk songs and com-posed music for the theater, films, and television.