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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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL4300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19570303 March 3rd, 1957.
VWL3975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19580807 August 7th 1958.
VWL1503 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19571015 October 15th, 1957.
VWL4717 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19480930 30th September, 1948.
VWL4776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 1949---- Sunday [1949?]
VWL4760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19541124 November 24th 1954.
VWL4774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 1943---- Oct 15 [after 1943]
VWL4297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19551007 October 7th 1955.
VWL676 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19290623 Sunday [23 June 1929]
VWL1646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell (BBC) 19391211 Dec 11 [1939]
VWL1617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell (BBC) 19391019 Oct 19 [1939]
VWL1364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400120 Jan 20 [1940]
VWL1398 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400303 March 3rd [1940]
VWL1410 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400324 March 24 [1940]
VWL1391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400322 March 22nd [1940]
VWL1361 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400123 Jan 23 [1940]
VWL2747 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major General Robert Lock and Beryl Lock 19531226 December 26th 1953.
VWL1739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major General Robert Lock 19430114 January 14 [1943]
VWL3253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major General and Mrs R Lock 19551227 Dec 27 [1955]
VWL3121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Arthur Congreve 19480716 16th July, 1948
VWL4492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19090115 [15 January 1909]
VWL4493 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 1909---- [1909?]
VWL4494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19120603 [Jun 3 1912]
VWL797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Madeleine Dring 19450219 Feb 19
VWL2818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lyle Dowling 19540508 May 8th 1954.
VWL2827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lyle Dowling 19540606 June 6th 1954.
VWL2888 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19541121 November 21st 1954
VWL2882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19541102 November 2nd 1954
VWL2992 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19550124 January 24th 1955
VWL386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19130122 [22 January 1913]

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