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.

Searching:
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
VWL2417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19471120 20th November, 1947.
VWL2402 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471119 19th November, 1947.
VWL1834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 194711-- [November 1947]
VWL1828 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 194711-- November, 1947
VWL1832 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 194711-- November, 1947.
VWL1829 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 194711-- November, 1947
VWL1830 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 194711-- November, 1947
VWL1827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194711-- November, 1947
VWL4047 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bill, Annette and Jane 19471017 Oct 17 [1947]
VWL2325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19471008 8th October, 1947
VWL3684 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19471004 October 4th [1947?]
VWL2318 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470909 9th September, 1947.
VWL2315 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470814 14th August, 1947
VWL2311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL2307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470710 July 10 [1947]
VWL2194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470619 19th June, 1947.
VWL2186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470610 June 10 1947
VWL5187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Corbett 19470531 31 May 1947
VWL2181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470513 [13th May 1947]
VWL4556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19470513 13 May, 1947
VWL4329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470513 13 May 1947
VWL1778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194703-- [Early March 1947]
VWL1779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 194703-- [Early March 1947]
VWL2161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470218 [18 February 1947]
VWL2155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470213 Feb 13 [1947]
VWL3683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19470207 Feb 7 [1947]
VWL2146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470103 Jan 3 [1947]
VWL3682 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460705 July 5 [1946]
VWL3681 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460521 May 21 [1946]
VWL3680 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460220 Feb 20 [1946]

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