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.

Searching:
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
VWL3984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19360821 Aug 21 [1936]
VWL3989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19330624 [24 June 1933]
VWL3992 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19340125 Jan 25 [1934]
VWL2211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alec Robertson (BBC) 19510329 29th March, 1951.
VWL3094 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Albert Sturgess 19550609 June 9th 1955.
VWL1929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Smith 19440819 August 19 [1944]
VWL1956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Smith 19441227 Dec 27 [1944]
VWL4726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Kirby 19471022 22nd October, 1947.
VWL554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 193701-- [About January 1937]
VWL3073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550327 March 27th 1955.
VWL3087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550505 May 5th 1955.
VWL3181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550814 August 14th 1955.
VWL3344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560627 June 27th 1956.
VWL3370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560828 August 28th 1956.
VWL3394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580130 January 30th 1958.
VWL3444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561028 October 28th 1956.
VWL3457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561229 [29th December 1956]
VWL3469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570303 March 3rd 1957.
VWL2415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520524 May 24th 1952
VWL2437 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520621 June 21st 1952.
VWL2549 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521119 19th November 1952.
VWL2562 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521231 31st December, 1952.
VWL2591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480415 April 15 [1948]
VWL4080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480414 14th April, 1948.
VWL4145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500322 22nd. March, 1950.
VWL4152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 195108-- Monday [August 1951]
VWL4167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550306 March 6th 1955.
VWL4279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530205 Feb 5 1953
VWL2665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530304 4th March, 1953.
VWL2668 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530311 11th March, 1953.

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