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
VWL2774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19480708 8th July, 1948.
VWL2775 Letter from Alan Frank (OUP) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480712 12th July l948
VWL2776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19480715 15th July, 1948
VWL2777 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19480716 16th July, 1948.
VWL2778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480716 July 16 [1948]
VWL2779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480723 23rd July, 1948.
VWL2780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19480729 29th July, 1948.
VWL2781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480805 5th August, 1948.
VWL2782 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19480819 19th August, 1948.
VWL2784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL2785 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Steuart Wilson (BBC) 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL2786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540210 February 10th 1954.
VWL2789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540221 [21 February 1954]
VWL2790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19480828 Aug 28 [1948]
VWL2791 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to T. Tertius Noble 19480904 4th September, 1948
VWL2792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480915 Sept 15 1948
VWL2794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL2796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2798 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19540314 March 14th 1954
VWL2800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Molony (BBC) 19540317 March 17th 1954.
VWL2801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480919 Sunday [19th September 1948]
VWL2802 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Turner 19540320 March 20th 1954.
VWL2803 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19480927 Sept 27 [1948?]
VWL2804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19480930 30th September, 1948.
VWL2805 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19481007 7th October, 1948.
VWL2808 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540328 March 28th 1954.
VWL2809 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker and others 19481014 14th October, 1948
VWL2810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19481014 Oct 14 [1948]

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