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
VWL2611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530115 Jan. 15th 1953
VWL2930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Hassall 19530115 15 January 1953
VWL2610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530110 January 10th 1953.
VWL2609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19530110 Jan 10 [1953]
VWL2608 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530109 9th January 1953
VWL2569 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530108 8th January 1953
VWL3659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19530107 Jan 7 [1953]
VWL2568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530105 Jan 5 [1953]
VWL2567 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530103 January 3rd 1953.
VWL3744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1953---- 1953
VWL2921 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 1953---- [1953-1957]
VWL2929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 1953---- [1953 or later]
VWL3973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Neville Cardus 1953---- 1953
VWL4896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1953---- [1953?]
VWL5088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 1953---- 1953-1957]
VWL2927 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1953---- Friday [1953?]
VWL2562 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521231 31st December, 1952.
VWL2564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19521231 31st December 1952
VWL2561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 19521231 31st December, 1952.
VWL2565 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521231 31st. December 26, 1952.
VWL2560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19521231 31st December, 1952
VWL4345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19521226 Dec 26 [1952]
VWL2559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521226 December 26th 1952.
VWL2557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19521224 24th December, 1952
VWL2556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Orrey 19521224 24th December, 1952
VWL2558 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19521224 24th December, 1952.
VWL2485 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Sunday Times 19521220 20th December 1952
VWL2555 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19521217 17th December, 1952.
VWL2525 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521210 10 Dec. 1952
VWL3657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19521210 [About 10th December 1952]

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