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
VWL3833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 19390112 January 12 [1939]
VWL3846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 19430925 25.9.43.
VWL3906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 19530831 August 31st. 1953.
VWL3907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 1953090- [early September, 1953]
VWL5114 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olga Koussevitsky 19521014 October 14th 1952.
VWL5127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olga Koussevitsky 19510707 7th July, 1951.
VWL5115 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olga Koussevitsky 19540619 June 19th 1954.
VWL3290 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Tattersall 19580604 June 4th 1958.
VWL1455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19390106 Jan 6 [?1939]
VWL2009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19451021 Oct. 21 [1945]
VWL1878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19450314 14 March, 1945
VWL1899 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19450729 [29th July 1945]
VWL1669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19420531 [31 May 1942]
VWL1681 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19420825 Aug: 25 [1942]
VWL1908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19440328 March 28 [1944]
VWL2012 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19451027 Oct 27 [1945]
VWL2164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19470407 [7th April 1947]
VWL1675 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19420714 July 14 [1942]
VWL1578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19410831 Aug 31 [1941]
VWL1694 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420928 Sept 28 [1942]
VWL1846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440101 Jan 1/1944
VWL1722 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19421027 Oct 27 [1942]
VWL1910 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440404 [4th April 1944]
VWL1911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440430 [30th April 1944]
VWL1949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19441203 Dec 3 [1944]
VWL1686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420905 September 4th 1942.
VWL1751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19430216 [16 February, 1942]
VWL1659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420501 May 1 [1942]
VWL1679 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420809 Aug 9th [1942]
VWL1687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420908 [8th September 1942]

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