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
VWL4688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19530208 February 8th 1953.
VWL5273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William James Shergold 19391109 Nov 9th [1939]
VWL4056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Grice at the Performing Right Society 19561117 November 17th 1956.
VWL4054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Grice at the Performing Right Society 19530912 September 12th 1953.
VWL4616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Glock 19551213 December 13th 1955.
VWL3691 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1954---- [about 1954?]
VWL3693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580416 16 April 1958
VWL3700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19560417 April 17th 1956.
VWL3743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1949---- [about 1949?]
VWL3744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1953---- 1953
VWL3745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500423 April 23 [1950]
VWL3748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500125 25th January 1950.
VWL3752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL3749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500104 4th January, 1950.
VWL3751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19491102 2nd. November, 1949.
VWL3690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1954---- [1954?]
VWL3692 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580610 June 10th 1958
VWL3694 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19570126 January 26th 1957.
VWL3710 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19580428 26th [April 1958]
VWL3716 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1950---- Oct 14 [about 1950]
VWL3747 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500414 April 14 [about 1950]
VWL3603 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Busch 19381105 Nov 5 [1938]
VWL595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Boosey 19251116 Nov 16 [1925?]
VWL5202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to whom it may concern 19320309 March 9th 1932
VWL4564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Susskind 194-0610 June 10 [late 1940s?]
VWL4934 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Leigh 19420603 June 3rd, 1942.
VWL1209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Goodchild 19380526 May 26 1938
VWL4292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter and Edith Stanton 19521014 October 14th 1952.
VWL4561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walford Davies 19360329 March 29 [1936]
VWL678 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson of the BBC 193907-- [July 1939]

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