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
VWL2900 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19450520 May 20 [1945]
VWL2899 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19450418 April 18 [1945]
VWL2898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 1945---- [January 1945 or later]
VWL2897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19440423 April 23 [1944]
VWL2896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Susanne Müller-Hartmann 19430901 Sept 1st [1943]
VWL2894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 1942---- Oct 16 [?1942-1944]
VWL2893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 1942---- [1942-1944?]
VWL2892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19541216 December 16th 1954.
VWL2889 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19541123 November 23rd [1954]
VWL2888 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19541121 November 21st 1954
VWL2887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19541116 November 16th 1954.
VWL2886 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19541116 [16 November, 1954]
VWL2884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19541106 November 6th 1954.
VWL2883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19541104 November 4th 1954
VWL2882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19541102 November 2nd 1954
VWL2878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19541020 [About 20th October 1954]
VWL2876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540914 September 14th 1954.
VWL2874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL2873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL2872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540905 September 5th 1954
VWL2871 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 19540905 September 5th 1954
VWL2870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19540903 Sept 3rd 1954
VWL2869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19420101 Jan 1st [1942]
VWL2868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 1941---- [before Dec 1941]
VWL2867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19401223 Dec 23 [1940?]
VWL2866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19401209 9 Dec 1940
VWL2865 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19540902 September 2nd 1954.
VWL2864 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19540823 August 23rd 1954
VWL2862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19540822 August 22nd 1954
VWL2861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540817 August 17 [1954]

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