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
VWL2277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19511006 Oct 6 1951
VWL2345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 195108-- [August 1951]
VWL2522 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19521026 October 26th [1952]
VWL2533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19521031 Oct 31 [1952]
VWL3494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19550601 [Mid 1955]
VWL3179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19490611 June 11 [1949]
VWL3222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19551113 November 13th 1955.
VWL3265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560210 February 10th 1956.
VWL3324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19580315 March 15th 1958.
VWL2274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19510912 12th September, 1951.
VWL2283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19511017 17th October, 1951.
VWL3313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL3378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19580209 February 9th 1958.
VWL2774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19480708 8th July, 1948.
VWL2609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19530110 Jan 10 [1953]
VWL3362 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560811 August 11th 1956.
VWL2957 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19490303 March 3 [1949]
VWL5193 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Armitage Davison 19540530 May 30th 1954.
VWL2500 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John and Evelyn Barbirolli 19521015 Oct 15 [1952]
VWL3518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL2662 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 19530220 February 20th 1953.
VWL5188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Johannesburg City Orchestra 19481118 18th November 1948
VWL479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19210816 [About 16th August 1921]
VWL209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19061001 [About 1st October 1906]
VWL213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19061018 Oct 18th [1906]
VWL215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19070301 [early March 1907]
VWL214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19061107 Nov 7th [1906]
VWL218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19070603 [3rd June 1907]
VWL146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19061006 [October 1906]

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