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
VWL4441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490824 24th August, 1949.
VWL3791 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19490824 24th August, 1949.
VWL3151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Vercoe 19490824 24th August, 1949
VWL3152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490817 17th August, 1949.
VWL3153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19490814 [14] Aug [1949]
VWL3164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19490810 10th August, 1949.
VWL3165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19490810 10th August, 1949
VWL3163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Havergal Brian 19490810 10th August 1949
VWL3162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490810 10th August, 1949.
VWL3166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19490807 August 7 [1949]
VWL3167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19490805 Friday [5th August 1949]
VWL3168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490803 3rd. August, 1949.
VWL1853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 1949080- [Early August 1949]
VWL1851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194908-- Tuesday [mid-August 1949]
VWL4444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 194908-- [August] 1949
VWL3169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490727 27th July, 1949.
VWL3170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490714 14th July, 1949.
VWL3172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL3171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL3173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490702 Saturday [2 July, 1949]
VWL1850 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 194907-- Sunday [late July 1949?]
VWL3174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19490629 29th June, 1949
VWL3175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19490622 22nd June, 1949.
VWL3176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19490622 22nd. June, 1949.
VWL3177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490622 22nd. June, 1949
VWL3178 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19490615 15th June, 1949.
VWL3179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19490611 June 11 [1949]
VWL3021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490608 8th June, 1949
VWL3180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490608 8th June, 1949.
VWL3022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Patrick Hadley 19490608 8th June, 1949

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