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
VWL2267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510818 18.8.51
VWL2260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510627 27th June, 1951
VWL4538 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19501231 New years Eve
VWL2089 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19501004 October 4 [1950?]
VWL2082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500908 [About 8th September 1950]
VWL2083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19500908 8th September, 1950.
VWL4378 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500815 August 15 [1950]
VWL2049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19500712 12th July, 1950.
VWL4452 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19491026 26th October, 1949.
VWL2948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sinclair Logan 19490914 14th September, 1949.
VWL3147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.M. Tillett 19490914 14th September, 1949
VWL3003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490525 25th May, 1949.
VWL2999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490505 5th May, 1949.
VWL2804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19480930 30th September, 1948.
VWL4362 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480907 September 7 [1948]
VWL2790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19480828 Aug 28 [1948]
VWL4217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19480822 Aug 22 [1948]
VWL2779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480723 23rd July, 1948.
VWL2778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480716 July 16 [1948]
VWL2590 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19480414 14th April, 1948.
VWL4528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19471031 Oct 31 [1947?]
VWL4527 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19470921 Sept 21 1947
VWL2312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL3621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL4526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19470522 Sunday [22 May, 1947]
VWL2573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19470227 Feb 27 [1947?]
VWL4137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19461107 Nov 7 [1946]
VWL4214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19460704 July 4 [1946]
VWL1863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.R. Barnes at the BBC 19440208 Feb 8 1944
VWL3636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194-11-- [1940s?]

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