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
VWL5199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19430907 Sept 7 [1943]
VWL5030 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Seymour-Whingates 19430906 Sept 6 [1943]
VWL2896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Susanne Müller-Hartmann 19430901 Sept 1st [1943]
VWL4846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 194309-- [September 1943]
VWL5220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bridget Fry 19430831 August 31st [1943]
VWL3845 Letter from Olin Downes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430825 August 25, 1943
VWL1801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430822 [22nd August 1943]
VWL1800 Letter from Arthur Bliss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430817 17th August, 1943
VWL1799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19430815 Aug 15 [1943]
VWL4048 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clarice Newbery 19430815 Aug 15 1943
VWL1797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19430808 Aug 8 [1943]
VWL1798 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19430808 Aug 8 [1943]
VWL1796 Letter from Ursula Wood to Joy Finzi 19430802 2.8.43
VWL1794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19430731 July 31 [1943?]
VWL1795 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19430731 July 31 [1943]
VWL1793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430726 July 26 [1943]
VWL5029 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19430721 July 21 [1943]
VWL1792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19430714 July 14 1943
VWL3917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19430707 July 7 [1943]
VWL5246 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19430706 July 6 1943
VWL1791 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430627 27 June 1943
VWL1790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19430625 June 25 [1943]
VWL1789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19430623 June 23 1943
VWL5207 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430622 June 22 [1943]
VWL1788 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19430615 [15 June 1943]
VWL1787 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19430612 [12 June 1943]
VWL1786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19430611 June 11, 43
VWL5206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430608 June 8 1943
VWL1785 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19430607 [7 June 1943]
VWL1842 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 194306-- [Late May or early June 1943]

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