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.

Searching:
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
VWL3208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19551022 [22 Oct 1955]
VWL2240 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19510520 [20 May 1951]
VWL3150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19490909 [9th September 1949]
VWL4663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Wilson 19571207 December 7th [1957]
VWL5026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19580328 [28 March 1958]
VWL3478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19570407 [7 April 1957]
VWL3495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 195509-- [September 1955]
VWL4203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 195302-- [February, 1953]
VWL3579 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon and Scott Goddard 19571013 [October 13 1957]
VWL1014 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19320922 [22 September, 1932]
VWL5171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.N. Barran 18940218 Feb 18 1894
VWL1127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19331215 [15th December 1933]
VWL614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19270324 [24th March 1927]
VWL519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19230830 [30th August 1923]
VWL629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19280208 [8th February 1928]
VWL3511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 195803-- [Early March 1958]
VWL505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19230102 [2nd January 1923]
VWL685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193910-- [Autumn 1939]
VWL2237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19510517 [17th May 1951]
VWL2258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510624 [24th June 1951]
VWL2632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530201 [1st February 1953]
VWL2321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19511206 [6th December 1951]
VWL2923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hiromichi Koike 19531208 December 8th 1953 
VWL917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310614 [14 June 1931]
VWL2218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Murrill 19510429 [29 April 1951]
VWL3593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19571016 [16 October, 1957]
VWL572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19241026 [26 October 1924]
VWL4556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19470513 13 May, 1947
VWL2247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19510521 21st May 1951
VWL3209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19551022 22nd October 1955

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