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
VWL2245 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19510521 Monday [?21 May 1951]
VWL4859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19510520 May 20 [1951]
VWL2236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510517 17th May, 1951
VWL4147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510517 17th May, 1951.
VWL2230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510517 17th May, 1951
VWL2226 Letter from Edward J. Dent to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510506 6 May 1951
VWL2224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19510503 May 3 [1951?]
VWL2222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510502 [2nd May 1951]
VWL2223 Letter from Edward J. Dent to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510502 2 May 1951
VWL2344 Lord Lechery’s song 195105-- [?May] 1951
VWL2220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510430 April 30 [1951]
VWL2218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Murrill 19510429 [29 April 1951]
VWL2219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Young 19510429 [29th April 1951]
VWL4541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19510429 29 April, 1951
VWL2217 Letter from Edward J. Dent to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510427 27 April 1951
VWL4964 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Covent Garden Opera Company 19510427 [late April 1951]
VWL2216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Steuart Wilson 19510427 April 27 [1951] (7.15 A M)
VWL2214 Letter from Ursula Wood to Beryl Lock 19510421 Saturday [21 April 1951]
VWL4150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510413 April 13 [1951?]
VWL2213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510410 10th April, 1951
VWL2340 Letter from Ursula Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 195104-- [mid April 1951]
VWL2210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510323 [23 March 1951]
VWL2209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510322 March 22 [1951]
VWL2208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510321 [21 March 1951]
VWL2207 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19510317 2.oc [about 17th March 1951]
VWL2205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19510313 [13th March 1951]
VWL2200 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19510301 [March 1st 1951]
VWL2339 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 195103-- Sat [March 1951]
VWL4117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hal Burton 19510221 21st. February, 1951.
VWL2196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510221 21st February, 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