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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL5027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19580724 July 24th 1958.
VWL5026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19580328 [28 March 1958]
VWL5025 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19560513 May 13th 1956.
VWL5024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19550224 February 24th 1955.
VWL5023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19531025 October 25th 1953.
VWL5022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19531018 October 18th 1953.
VWL5021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19530609 June 9 [1953]
VWL5020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL5019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19521110 November 10th 1952.
VWL5018 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19520305 5th. March, 1952.
VWL5017 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19511016 Oct 16 [1951]
VWL5016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19510912 12th September, 1951.
VWL5015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19510117 Jan 17 [1951]
VWL5014 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19501115 15th November, 1950.
VWL5031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19500914 Sept 14 [1950?]
VWL5013 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19500315 15th March, 1950.
VWL5011 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19500125 25th January, 1950.
VWL5038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19490429 [29 April 1949]
VWL5010 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL5009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19480211 12 [i.e.11] February, 1948.
VWL5032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19461020 Oct 20 [1946]
VWL5030 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Seymour-Whingates 19430906 Sept 6 [1943]
VWL5029 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19430721 July 21 [1943]
VWL5028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19420528 May 28 [1942]
VWL4997 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson 19411117 Nov 17 [1941]
VWL5000 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19391015 Oct 15 [1939]
VWL5007 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19381106 Nov 6 [1938]
VWL5037 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19381026 [26 Oct 1938]
VWL5008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19380516 May 14 [1938]
VWL5039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19370919 Sunday [19 Sep 1937]

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