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
VWL1524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390310 March 10 [1939]
VWL1523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390306 March 6 [1939]
VWL1521 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19410216 February 16th [1941]
VWL1520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410118 Jan 18 [1941]
VWL1519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19390302 Thursday [2 March 1939]
VWL1518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E. Price 19390227 Feb 27 [1939]
VWL1517 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19390220 Feb 20th [?late 1930s]
VWL1516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19471016 Oct 16 [1947]
VWL1515 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390207 Tuesday [7 February, 1939]
VWL1514 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19390130 Jan 30 [1939]
VWL1513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19390126 January 26 [1939]
VWL1512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390120 Jan 20 [1939]
VWL1511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390115 [15th January 1939]
VWL1510 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390115 [15th January 1939]
VWL1508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.H. Reed 1940---- [c 1940]
VWL1507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 1940---- [1940]
VWL1506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1940---- [1940]
VWL1505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1940---- [1940]
VWL1504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194103-- [March 1941]
VWL1503 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19571015 October 15th, 1957.
VWL1502 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390403 [3 April 1939]
VWL1501 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194010-- Sunday [Autumn 1940]
VWL1500 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 194010-- [October 1940]
VWL1499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194010-- Sunday morning 7.30 [After October 1940]
VWL1498 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Townsend 194009-- [September 1940 ]
VWL1497 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194009-- [1940]
VWL1496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- [1940]
VWL1495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- Wednesday [August 1940]
VWL1494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- [August 1940]
VWL1493 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [July 1940]

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