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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL5206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430608 June 8 1943
VWL5207 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430622 June 22 [1943]
VWL5208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Snowman 195-0905 September 5 [1950?]
VWL5209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E. Barry Green 19510110 10th January, 1951.
VWL5210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL5211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [between 1921 and 1929]
VWL5212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified recipient 190----- [early 1900s]
VWL5213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19231210 Monday [10 December 1923]
VWL5214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Welsh Folk Song Society 1958---- 1958
VWL5215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Sidgwick 1908---- [probably 1908 or later]
VWL5216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [1920s]
VWL5217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- March 13 [1920s]
VWL5218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cousins 194-0214 February 14th [1940s?]
VWL5219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elsie Fry 19421226 26 December [early 1940s]
VWL5220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bridget Fry 19430831 August 31st [1943]
VWL5221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bridget Fry 19440507 May 7 [1944]
VWL5222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John O’Brien 19521001 1st October 1952
VWL5223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent (probably Artur Rodzinski) 19350518 May 18 [1935]
VWL5224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Sternfeld 19551002 October 2nd 1955
VWL5225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Allan Wilshire 19370927 Sept 27th [1937]
VWL5230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19510124 Jan 24 1951
VWL5231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Philip Hendy 19540324 [March 24 1954]
VWL5232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19540324 March 24th 1954
VWL5233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19190502 2/5/19
VWL5234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Hawkes 19320213 Feb 13 [1932?]
VWL5235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19480426 26 Apr [1948]
VWL5236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19501016 Oct 16 [1950]
VWL5237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19431225 Xmas Day [1943]
VWL5238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19471006 6 Oct 1947
VWL5239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19401206 Dec 6 [1940?]

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