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
VWL3696 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19760103 January 3rd [1976]
VWL3656 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 1960---- [ca 1960]
VWL3707 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19580828 August 28th, 1958.
VWL3708 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19580828 August 28th, 1958.
VWL3764 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551005 November 5th, 1955.
VWL2449 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520709 9th July, 1952.
VWL3787 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19450110 10 Jan 45.
VWL1870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19450110 Jan 10 [1945]
VWL3738 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19450109 Jan 9th, 1945.
VWL1606 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Tippett 19411217 Dec 17 [1941]
VWL3739 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19410321 March 21st, 1941
VWL5133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19410315 15 March, 1941
VWL1527 BBC Public Statement 19410314 14th March, 1941
VWL1526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to BBC Director General 19410309 March 9 [1941]
VWL3720 Letter from Nancy Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390326 March 26th, 1939
VWL3734 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19381228 December 28th, 1938.
VWL3923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 193-0308 March 8, [193-?]
VWL712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19291217 [17 December, 1929]

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