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
VWL2228 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Wallis 19510511 May 11th 1951
VWL4118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19510522 [22 May, 1951]
VWL4120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19510207 7th February, 1951.
VWL4119 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19510501 1st. May, 1951.
VWL2330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christian Darnton 19511212 Dec 12th 1951
VWL2273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19510919 19th Septr., 1951.
VWL2282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19511017 17th October, 1951.
VWL3713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19511114 14th November, 1951.
VWL2288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19511024 24th October, 1951.
VWL2179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19510131 31st. January, 1951
VWL2215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Birmingham Reference Library 19510422 April 22 [1951]
VWL2201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 19510308 March 8 [1951?]
VWL4730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Dickinson 19511016 Oct 16 [1951]
VWL5112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold van Wyk 19510321 21st. March, 1951.
VWL5110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold van Wyk 19510725 25th July, 1951.
VWL2238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19510517 17th May 1951
VWL2287 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19511024 24th October, 1951.
VWL2269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19510831 31st. August, 1951.
VWL2280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19511015 Oct 15 1951
VWL2286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19511114 14th November, 1951
VWL2266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510815 15th August, 1951
VWL2296 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19511114 14th November, 1951
VWL2213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510410 10th April, 1951
VWL2267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510818 18.8.51
VWL2333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19511218 18th December, 1951
VWL2271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19510831 31st. August, 1951.
VWL2232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19510514 May 14 [1951]
VWL3996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19510808 8 Aug 1951
VWL2211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alec Robertson (BBC) 19510329 29th March, 1951.
VWL2270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510831 31st. August, 1951.

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