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
VWL3231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19551217 December 17th 1955.
VWL3232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19551225 December 25th 1955.
VWL3233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551218 December 18th 1955.
VWL3239 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 192-0605 June 5 [1920s]
VWL3245 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19360821 August 21 [1936?]
VWL3246 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19260910 Friday September 10 [1926]
VWL3247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 193---- Wed [1939]
VWL3248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19390518 [May 18 1939]
VWL3249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19380126 [26 Jan 1938]
VWL3253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major General and Mrs R Lock 19551227 Dec 27 [1955]
VWL3254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19551228 December 28th 1955.
VWL3255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Veronica Wedgwood 19560103 Jan 3rd 1956
VWL3256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19560103 Jan 3rd 1956
VWL3257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19560119 January 19th 1956.
VWL3259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560122 January 22nd 1956.
VWL3260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560129 January 29th 1956.
VWL3261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Howgill (BBC) 19560129 January 29th 1956
VWL3262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560130 Jan 30 [1956]
VWL3265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560210 February 10th 1956.
VWL3267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580824 August 24th 1958
VWL3269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jeremy Dale Roberts 19580810 August 10th 1958.
VWL3270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580810 August 10th 1958.
VWL3271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Frank Rust 19580803 [Aug. 3rd 1959]
VWL3274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nigel Fortune 19580723 July 23rd 1958.
VWL3275 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.A. Barber, Headmaster of Swaffham Primary School 19580710 July 10th 1958.
VWL3277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580706 July 6th 1958
VWL3278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19580701 July 1 1958
VWL3279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19580629 June 29th 1958
VWL3280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rosamund Strode 19580629 June 29th 1958
VWL3281 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580627 June 27th 1958.

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