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
VWL3896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930]
VWL3897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL3898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL3899 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19300606 6 Jun 30
VWL3900 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL3901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1934---- [1934?]
VWL3906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 19530831 August 31st. 1953.
VWL3907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 1953090- [early September, 1953]
VWL3911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to LeRoy Van Hoesen jr 19550620 June 20th 1955
VWL3912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19340422 [22 or 23 April 1934]
VWL3913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19340701 Sunday [1 or 8 July 1934]
VWL3914 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19350127 Jan 27th [1935]
VWL3915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19390203 Feb [3rd 1939]
VWL3916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 194205-- [May 1942]
VWL3917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19430707 July 7 [1943]
VWL3918 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19460609 June 9th [1946?]
VWL3923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 193-0308 March 8, [193-?]
VWL3924 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eila Mackenzie 19541125 [late 1954]
VWL3925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eila Mackenzie 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL3926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eila Mackenzie 1954---- [1954?]
VWL3927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eila Mackenzie 19550529 May 29th 1955.
VWL3929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eila Mackenzie 19550227 Feb 27 [1955?]
VWL3930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Heseltine 1924---- [1924?]
VWL3931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Heseltine 192----- [1920s]
VWL3932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19430119 Jan 19 1943
VWL3933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19371125 [late November 1937]
VWL3934 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 193-0507 May 7 [1930s]
VWL3935 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 1937---- Sunday [1937?]
VWL3936 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 1954---- March 10 [1954-1958]
VWL3937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 193----- Monday [1930s?]

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