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
VWL3596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page & Douglas Lilburn 19571018 Oct 18 [1957]
VWL4267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19570927 Sept 27 1957
VWL4266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19571013 13 Oct 1957
VWL3559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19571126 [26 November 1957]
VWL3547 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Chapman 19570908 September 8th 1957.
VWL3585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19571014 [October ?1957]
VWL3568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19571108 Nov 8 1957
VWL3592 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19571016 October 16th 1957.
VWL3012 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Derek Hudson 19570208 February 8th 1957.
VWL4286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dennis Arundell 19570303 March 3rd 1957.
VWL3665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19571015 October 15th 1957
VWL3664 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19570822 22 August 1957
VWL3519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570401 April 1st 1957.
VWL4273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570529 May 29 1957
VWL3590 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL3472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570324 March 24th 1957
VWL3535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570804 August 4th 1957.
VWL3602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19571029 October 29th 1957.
VWL4693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19570825 25 Aug 1957
VWL3533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 19570724 July 24 1957
VWL3360 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19570728 July 28th 1957
VWL3542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19570828 August 28th 1957.
VWL3577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19571013 Oct 13 [1957]
VWL3462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19570127 January 27th 1957.
VWL3574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19571005 October 5th 1957.
VWL3589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19571015 October 15th 1957
VWL3480 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19570411 April 11th [1957]
VWL5142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified gentleman 19571020 20? October, 1957
VWL3469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570303 March 3rd 1957.

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