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
VWL2441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19520625 25th June, 1952.
VWL2369 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Treves 19520220 20th February 1952
VWL2370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520220 20th February, 1952
VWL2366 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520207 [7 February 1952] Thursday
VWL2361 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520202 2nd February, 1952
VWL2364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520202 2nd. February, 1952
VWL4160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520202 2nd. February, 1952.
VWL2351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19520109 9th January, 1952.
VWL3864 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1952---- Whit Sunday [1952?]
VWL4158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19511212 12th December, 1951.
VWL4159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511212 12th December, 1951.
VWL2298 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511121 November 21st., 1951.
VWL4157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511118 November 18th 1951.
VWL4156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511114 14th November, 1951.
VWL2289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19511024 24th October, 1951
VWL2276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19511003 [3 October 1951]
VWL4154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510919 19th September, 1951.
VWL2272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510910 Sept 10 [1951]
VWL4152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 195108-- Monday [August 1951]
VWL4153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 195108-- [August 1951?]
VWL4151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510728 July 28 [1951]
VWL2261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510701 Sunday [?1 July 1951]
VWL2260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510627 27th June, 1951
VWL2259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19510627 27th June, 1951.
VWL2258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510624 [24th June 1951]
VWL2257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510622 June 22 [1951]
VWL2256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510621 June 21 1951
VWL2255 Letter from Hubert Foss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510620 20th June, 1951
VWL2254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510613 13th June, 1951.
VWL2250 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510530 May 30th, 1951.

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