Search the letters

The Vaughan Williams Foundation has made over 5000 items freely available: chiefly letters from Ralph Vaughan Williams, but including some responses which shed light on the subject matter, and also a number of letters from Adeline and Ursula Vaughan Williams. These provide further information and often include messages or observations from Ralph, and there are also letters from Adeline and Ursula written on behalf of the couple. The text of letters written by RVW and UVW remain the copyright of the Foundation.

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The letters are in tabular form and can be sorted by column, or filtered by any keyword including name, musical title, year or subject (singly or in combination). Partial matches will also be found, e.g. searching “sky” will also find “Stravinsky”. To search for a phrase use inverted commas, e.g. “New York”.

To search by letter number, include the prefix VWL, e.g. VWL123.

Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL4205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19520520 20 May [1952]
VWL5167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Travers 19520511 May 11 1952
VWL2408 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520510 May 10th 1952.
VWL2407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19520502 May 2nd [1952]
VWL2406 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520501 May 1, 1952
VWL4624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.E. Harvey 19520430 30th April, 1952.
VWL2405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520423 23rd. April, 1952.
VWL2395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL2404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL2396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19520416 16th April 1952
VWL2403 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL4351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL4428 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Turner Levy 19520416 16th April, 1952
VWL2394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520410 April 10 [1952]
VWL2392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520409 9th April, 1952.
VWL2390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19520409 9th April, 1952
VWL2391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19520409 9th April, 1952
VWL2393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520409 9th April, 1952.
VWL2386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19520403 3rd. April, 1952
VWL2389 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19520403 April 3 [1952]
VWL2387 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19520403 3rd. April, 1952.
VWL2388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520403 3rd April 1952
VWL2385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19520325 25th March, 1952.
VWL2384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19520320 March 20th [1952?]
VWL2383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520317 March 17 [1952]
VWL2382 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520317 March 17th., 1952
VWL2380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19520316 March 16th 1952
VWL2381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19520316 March 16th 1952.
VWL2379 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520314 March 14th., 1952
VWL2378 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520313 March 13th., 1952

You have never lost your invention but it has not developed enough.  Your best – your most original and beautiful style or ‘atmosphere’ is an indescribable sort of feeling as if one was listening to very lovely lyrical poetry.

GUSTAV HOLST letter to RVW 1903

He was one of the most 'complete' men I have ever known. He loved life, he loved work and his interest in all music was unquenchable and insatiable.

SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI, conductor

I was thunderstruck by the symphony last night - and hadn't expected to be. Jagged, pulsating and angry, from that very first clanging dissonance - how can it have come from the same source as the Tallis Fantasia?

AUDIENCE MEMBER, Newbury Festival