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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL5217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- March 13 [1920s]
VWL5216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [1920s]
VWL5215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Sidgwick 1908---- [probably 1908 or later]
VWL5214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Welsh Folk Song Society 1958---- 1958
VWL5213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19231210 Monday [10 December 1923]
VWL5212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified recipient 190----- [early 1900s]
VWL5211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [between 1921 and 1929]
VWL5210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL5209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E. Barry Green 19510110 10th January, 1951.
VWL5208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Snowman 195-0905 September 5 [1950?]
VWL5207 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430622 June 22 [1943]
VWL5206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430608 June 8 1943
VWL5205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Vaughan Williams 18891015 [15 October 1889]
VWL5204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Griffiths 19421017 Oct 17 [1942]
VWL5203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Griffiths 19420214 Feb 14 [1942]
VWL5202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to whom it may concern 19320309 March 9th 1932
VWL5201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Mead 19511024 24th October, 1951.
VWL5200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19491007 Friday [7 October 1949]
VWL5199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19430907 Sept 7 [1943]
VWL5198 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19550528 May 28th 1955
VWL5197 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19460723 July 23 [1946]
VWL5196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440802 Aug 2d [1944]
VWL5193 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Armitage Davison 19540530 May 30th 1954.
VWL5192 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hector Home Walker 19530704 July 4th 1953.
VWL5191 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19041030 Oct 30th [1904]
VWL5190 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19030214 Feb14th [1903]
VWL5189 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19030213 Feb 13th [1903]
VWL5188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Johannesburg City Orchestra 19481118 18th November 1948
VWL5187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Corbett 19470531 31 May 1947
VWL5186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Harvey 19390212 February 12 [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