Pièce 39 - Letter from Donald Tovey to R. C. Trevelyan

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2 St Margaret's Road [on University of Edinburgh headed notepaper]. - Is sorry not to have written sooner: meant to do so when [Trevelyan's] "Pterodamozels" came but this has taken longer than he expected. The move to the Toveys' new house happened just when Trevelyan's letter about [John] Foulds arrived; Grettie had a collapse due to the strain of the move and is only now recovering. Would be jolly if Trevelyan came to Edinburgh in October. Trevelyan may show Foulds anything of Ariadne ["The Bride of Dionysus"] which may interest him, as long as he first see the parts which are in a final state - 'the big sheets or Raabe's copy'.

Is interested in what he has seen of Foulds' work, though has seen nothing recent: sent an early set of variations on to Röntgen, who was very pleased; Trevelyan should encourage Foulds to send something to the Carnegie people, as their first year's list is very successful, with Vaughan Williams, Bantock, Stanford and Frank Bridges and 'three totally unknown names with them' [Boughton, Howells and ?]: calls it, short of founding orchestras, 'much the best thing that has yet been done for English music.' Grettie liked [Trevelyan's] "Pearl Tree" but since she is still recovering he has not introduced her to the "Pterodamozels" yet: [Austen's] "Emma" 'represents the limit of our joint capacity for satire'. Has discovered Chapman's translation of Homer, and also that with help he can read Homer himself.