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
VWL1587 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19411113 13 Nov 41
VWL1586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19411112 Nov 12 [1941]
VWL1584 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19411106 Nov 6 [1941]
VWL1583 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19411102 Nov 2d [?1941]
VWL1582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19411016 Thursday [16th October 1941]
VWL1581 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410912 Sep 12 [1941]
VWL1580 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19410912 Sept 12 [1941?]
VWL1579 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19410905 Sep 5 [1941]
VWL1578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19410831 Aug 31 [1941]
VWL1577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19410815 Aug 15 [1941]
VWL1576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret James 19390722 July 22 [1939]
VWL1575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19410814 Aug l4th [1941]
VWL1574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390713 July 13 [1939]
VWL1573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390705 [5th July 1939]
VWL1572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denis Dowling 19390703 July 3rd [1939]
VWL1571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19390625 June 25 [1939]
VWL1570 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390702 July 2 [1939]
VWL1569 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 19390623 June 23 [1939]
VWL1568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19390614 June 14 [1939]
VWL1567 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19390612 June 12 [1939]
VWL1566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Murrill 19390601 June 1 [1939]
VWL1565 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390513 [13th May, 1939]
VWL1564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390511 [11th May, 1939]
VWL1563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19390425 [April 25 1939]
VWL1562 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Gregory Mason 19390424 [24th April 1939]
VWL1561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390416 [16th April, 1939]
VWL1560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19390415 [Mid April 1939]
VWL1558 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390410 Monday [10th April 1939]
VWL1557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390325 March 25 [1939]
VWL1556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390322 [22 March, 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