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
VWL2026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19460115 Jan 15 [1946]
VWL1889 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19450514 May 14th 1945.
VWL1952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19441225 Xmas day [1944]
VWL1940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19441015 October 15 [1944]
VWL1937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19441013 [13 October 1944]
VWL1959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 194410-- [October 1944]
VWL1933 Letter from James W. Welch (BBC) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19440912 12th September, 1944.
VWL1932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reverend James Welch 19440908 Sept 8 [1944]
VWL1931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19440903 Sept 3 [1944]
VWL1927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19440818 August 18 [1944]
VWL1911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440430 [30th April 1944]
VWL1910 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440404 [4th April 1944]
VWL4023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19440313 [13 March 1944]
VWL1866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL1863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.R. Barnes at the BBC 19440208 Feb 8 1944
VWL1861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood at the BBC 19440121 Jan 21 [1944]
VWL1846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440101 Jan 1/1944
VWL1816 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19431029 October 29 [1943]
VWL1813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James W. Welch (BBC) 19431023 [23 Oct 1943]
VWL1800 Letter from Arthur Bliss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430817 17th August, 1943
VWL1788 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19430615 [15 June 1943]
VWL1786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19430611 June 11, 43
VWL1784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430523 May 23 [1943]
VWL1764 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430521 [May 21st 1943]
VWL344 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19421109 9 Nov. 1942
VWL1714 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19421022 Oct 22 [1942]
VWL1713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19421020 Oct 20 [1942]
VWL1689 BBC internal memorandum from Sir Adrian Boult to Arthur Bliss 19420915 September 15th 1942
VWL1682 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reginald Thatcher (BBC) 19420825 Aug: 25. 1942.
VWL1677 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Blech 19420728 July 28 [1942?]

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