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
VWL3793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500607 7th June, 1950.
VWL2000 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19500603 June 3 [1950]
VWL1999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19500531 31st. May, 1950.
VWL1996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19500524 24th May 1950.
VWL1997 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19500524 24th May, 1950
VWL1995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500524 24th May, 1950
VWL1998 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Veronica Gotch 19500524 24th May, 1950.
VWL1994 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500517 17 May, 1950.
VWL3792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500516 May 16 [1950]
VWL2913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500512 [12 May 1950]
VWL1993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19500511 11th May 1950
VWL2912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500511 11th May, 1950.
VWL4148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500503 3rd May, 1950.
VWL4377 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500503 May 3 [1950]
VWL1991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500503 3rd. May, 1950.
VWL3746 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Winifred Cole 19500426 April 26 [1950]
VWL3745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500423 April 23 [1950]
VWL3747 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500414 April 14 [about 1950]
VWL3801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500412 12th April, 1950.
VWL1990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500405 April 5 [1950]
VWL3875 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19500405 5th April, 1950.
VWL3800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500401 April 1 [1950]
VWL2055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the performers in the Leith Hill Musical Festival of 1950 195004-- [April/May 1950]
VWL4146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL1989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL3799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL1987 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500330 30th March, 1950
VWL1988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Hutchings 19500330 30th March, 1950
VWL4145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500322 22nd. March, 1950.
VWL1986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Butterworth 19500322 March 22 [1950]

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