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
VWL4023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19440313 [13 March 1944]
VWL1905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19440312 March 12 [1944]
VWL1902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440309 March 9 [1944]
VWL1901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440305 [About 5th March 1944]
VWL1904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19440303 March 3 [1944]
VWL1868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19440229 Feb 29 [1944 ] (eve of Leap year!!!)
VWL1867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440225 Feb 25 [1944]
VWL1866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL4658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL1864 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19440213 Feb 13 [1944]
VWL1863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.R. Barnes at the BBC 19440208 Feb 8 1944
VWL1862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440205 Feb 5. [1944]
VWL4657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Marsden 194402-- [Feb 1944]
VWL4519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440125 Jan 24 [1944]
VWL1861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood at the BBC 19440121 Jan 21 [1944]
VWL1860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19440118 Jan 18 [1944]
VWL4518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440117 Jan 17 1944
VWL1859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440115 [Mid January 1944]
VWL1858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19440108 Jan 8 [1944]
VWL5271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vinicio Barocas 19440103 Jan 3/44
VWL1846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440101 Jan 1/1944
VWL3954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 1944---- Oct 18 [1944]
VWL1960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 1944---- [1943 or 1944]
VWL5094 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19431228 Dec 28 [1943?]
VWL5064 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19431226 Dec 26 [1943]
VWL5237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19431225 Xmas Day [1943]
VWL1833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19431225 Xmas Day [1943]
VWL1825 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clarence Raybould (BBC) 19431223 [23 December 1943]
VWL1826 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19431222 Dec 22 [1943]
VWL1823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Bush 19431221 Dec 21st [1943]

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