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
VWL1973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ibbs and Tillett 19500111 11 January, 1950
VWL1974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bruce Flegg 19500119 Jan 19 [1950]
VWL1975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500122 Jan 22 [1950]
VWL1976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19500201 1st. February, 1950.
VWL1978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Radio Times 19500716 July 16th 1950
VWL1979 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500222 22nd February, 1950
VWL1980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500305 1st March, 1950
VWL1981 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19500315 15th March, l950.
VWL1982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19500308 8th March, 1950
VWL1983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500308 8th March, 1950.
VWL1984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500322 22nd March, 1950
VWL1985 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Budden 19500322 22nd March, 1950.
VWL1986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Butterworth 19500322 March 22 [1950]
VWL1987 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500330 30th March, 1950
VWL1988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Hutchings 19500330 30th March, 1950
VWL1989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL1990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500405 April 5 [1950]
VWL1991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500503 3rd. May, 1950.
VWL1993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19500511 11th May 1950
VWL1994 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500517 17 May, 1950.
VWL1995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500524 24th May, 1950
VWL1996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19500524 24th May 1950.
VWL1997 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19500524 24th May, 1950
VWL1998 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Veronica Gotch 19500524 24th May, 1950.
VWL1999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19500531 31st. May, 1950.
VWL2001 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bruce Flegg 19500614 14 June, 1950.
VWL2002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500614 14th June, 1950
VWL2003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19500620 [About 20th June 1950]
VWL2004 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19500622 22nd. June, 1950
VWL2005 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500622 22nd. June, 1950.

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