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.

Searching:
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
VWL3483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL3520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19571029 October 29th 1957
VWL3460 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570122 January 22nd 1957.
VWL3474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570329 March 29th 1957
VWL3477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570402 April 2nd 1957.
VWL3513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570512 May 12th 1957.
VWL4170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570215 February 15th 1957.
VWL3557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3467 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570221 February 21st 1957.
VWL3551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19571231 December 31st 1957.
VWL3475 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19570329 March 29th 1957½
VWL3571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19571001 Oct 1st 1957
VWL3587 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary, Society of Authors 19571015 15th October 1957
VWL5071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19570916 [Monday 16 September, 1957]
VWL5069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Geoffrey Bush to the Editor of The Times 19570405 Friday 5 April, 1957
VWL3552 Letter from Michael and Eslyn Kennedy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571231 Dec.31, 1957.
VWL3600 Letter from Joseph Szigeti to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571027 October 27, 1957
VWL3573 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571005 Oct 5/57.
VWL3464 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570211 11/ii/57
VWL3565 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571104 4/xi/57
VWL3570 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571001 [Early October 1957]
VWL3523 Letter from Elizabeth Poston to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570610 10th June, 1957
VWL3709 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571231 December 31st, 1957.
VWL3788 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571228 December 28th, 1957.
VWL3790 Letter from Alan Bush to Adolph Borsdorf 19571231 December 31st, 1957.
VWL3789 Letter from Alan Bush to Adolph Borsdorf 19571228 December 28th, 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