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
VWL4007 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Walter at the Performing Right Society 19571230 December 30th 1957.
VWL4006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Walter at the Performing Right Society 19571223 December 20th 1957.
VWL4005 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19571215 December 15th 1957
VWL4706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Victoria University of Wellington 19571118 November 18th 1957.
VWL5070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19571016 October 16 [1957]
VWL5073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19571001 [Friday 4 October, 1957]
VWL5071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19570916 [Monday 16 September, 1957]
VWL5077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19570425 April 25, [1957]
VWL3530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19570423 [23 April, 1957]
VWL3477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570402 April 2nd 1957.
VWL3462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19570127 January 27th 1957.
VWL3695 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Riddick 19570122 January 22nd 1957.
VWL2054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 1957---- [1957]
VWL3456 Letter from Michael Tippett to Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams 19561229 29th Dec. 1956
VWL5102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19561024 Wednesday 24 October, 1956
VWL3435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19561016 October 16th 1956.
VWL5067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19561016 16 October, 1956
VWL5072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19560702 [Monday 2 July, 1956]
VWL3415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL5068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19560327 Tuesday 27 March, 1956
VWL5096 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19551207 [Wednesday, 7 December, 1955]
VWL5048 Letter from John Masefield, Ralph Vaughan Williams and members of the National Book League to the Editor of The Times 19551126 [Saturday November 26, 1955]
VWL5103 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19551116 Wednesday 16 November, 1955
VWL3216 Letter from Patrick Hadley to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19551106 6 Nov. ‘55
VWL3184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL3183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL4484 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19550812 August 12th 1955.
VWL3101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19550701 July 1st 1955.
VWL3099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clifford Gillam (Arnold Bax Society) 19550629 June 29th 1955.
VWL3008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Gurney 19550517 May 17th 1955.

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