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
VWL3502 Piece on Ralph Vaughan Williams by John Ireland 195809-- [1958]
VWL4200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19580214 February 14th 1958.
VWL3420 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580109 9.1.58
VWL3688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19571220 December 20th 1957
VWL3571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19571001 Oct 1st 1957
VWL3365 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560818 August 18th 1956.
VWL3110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550815 August 15th 1955.
VWL4238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19550620 June 20 [1955]
VWL4237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19550615 June 15th 1955.
VWL5024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19550224 February 24th 1955.
VWL2863 Letter from John Ireland to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19540822 August 22nd 1954
VWL2826 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540604 [4 June 1954]
VWL2713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19530825 Aug 25 [1953]
VWL2712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530822 August 22nd 1953.
VWL4479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19530817 August 17th 1953.
VWL2711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530810 August 10th, 1953.
VWL3951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530712 July 12th 1953.
VWL3744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1953---- 1953
VWL2479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19521005 Oct 5th [1952]
VWL2464 Letter from John Ireland to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520829 August 29th, 1952
VWL2336 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520102 January 2 [1952]
VWL2332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19511218 18th December, 1951.
VWL2320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19511205 5th December 1951
VWL2052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 1950---- Tuesday [?about 1950]
VWL3080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19491115 [On or about 15 November 1949]
VWL3153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19490814 [14] Aug [1949]
VWL2977 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490330 March 30 [1949]
VWL2953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19490217 17th February, 1949.
VWL2944 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Hamber 19490126 26th January, 1949.
VWL4112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Stevens 19490112 12th January, 1949.

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