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
VWL4076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Fisher 19160403 3 April 1916
VWL4075 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19161205 Dec 5th 1916
VWL4074 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Sandwith Boys Smith 19540522 May 22nd, 1954
VWL4073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Guest 19540815 August 15th 1954
VWL4072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19440921 21 Sept 1944
VWL4071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 1941---- [1941?]
VWL4070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 1942---- [1942]
VWL4069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420808 Aug 8th [1942]
VWL4068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194206-- [June] 1942
VWL4067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194204-- [April] 1942
VWL4066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420424 April 24 [1942]
VWL4065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420413 April 13 [1942]
VWL4064 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194112-- [December] 1941
VWL4063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194110-- [October] 1941
VWL4062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194109-- [September] 1941
VWL4061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194107-- [July] 1941
VWL4060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19410711 July 11 1941
VWL4059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 1937---- [1937?]
VWL4058 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to R.S. Scragg 194710-- Tuesday [October 1947]
VWL4057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19570502 May 2nd [1957]
VWL4056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Grice at the Performing Right Society 19561117 November 17th 1956.
VWL4055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19550306 March 6th 1955.
VWL4054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Grice at the Performing Right Society 19530912 September 12th 1953.
VWL4053 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19530304 4th March, 1953.
VWL4052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Scull at the Performing Right Society 19530130 30th January, 1953.
VWL4051 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19520104 Jan 4th 1952
VWL4050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19511003 3rd Octr., 1951.
VWL4049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clarice Newbery 19490516 May 16 [1949]
VWL4048 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clarice Newbery 19430815 Aug 15 1943
VWL4047 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bill, Annette and Jane 19471017 Oct 17 [1947]

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