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
VWL2314 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL2311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL4748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL4438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eleanor Farjeon 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL2183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19470724 July 24 [1947?]
VWL2309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Music Librarian (BBC) 19470721 July 21 [1947]
VWL2308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19470717 17th July, 1947.
VWL4959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19470713 Sunday [13 July 1947]
VWL2307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470710 July 10 [1947]
VWL2306 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470709 9th July, 1947.
VWL5063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19470706 July 6 [1947]
VWL4958 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19470706 July 6 [1947]
VWL2305 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470704 July 4th [1947]
VWL2303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19470703 3rd July, 1947
VWL2304 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470703 3rd July, 1947.
VWL2302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470626 June 26 1947
VWL2300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470625 25th June, 1947.
VWL2301 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19470625 25th June, 1947.
VWL2194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470619 19th June, 1947.
VWL2187 Letter from A.L.P. Norrington to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19470612 12th June, 1947.
VWL2186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470610 June 10 1947
VWL384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Florent Schmitt 19470605 5th June, 1947.
VWL5081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19470603 June 3 [1947]
VWL2184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19470531 31st May, 1947.
VWL5187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Corbett 19470531 31 May 1947
VWL2185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19470531 31st May, 1947.
VWL4025 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19470526 May 26 1947
VWL4526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19470522 Sunday [22 May, 1947]
VWL5052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams, Myra Hess, Albert Sammons and Lionel Tertis to the Editor of The Times 19470522 [Thursday May 22 1947]
VWL4957 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19470520 May 20 [1947]

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