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
VWL3406 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19560520 May 20th 1956
VWL3319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19560407 April 7th 1956.
VWL3181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550814 August 14th 1955.
VWL2759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19540123 January 23rd 1954.
VWL2689 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19530608 June 8th 1953
VWL2688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19530528 28th May 1953
VWL2551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521127 27th November, 1952.
VWL2453 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19520727 July 27th 1952
VWL2384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19520320 March 20th [1952?]
VWL2383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520317 March 17 [1952]
VWL2373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520305 5th March, 1952
VWL2371 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19520227 27th February 1952
VWL2363 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19520202 2nd February, 1952
VWL4160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520202 2nd. February, 1952.
VWL2336 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520102 January 2 [1952]
VWL2188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510207 7th February 1951
VWL2177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510124 24th January, 1951
VWL2176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19510124 24th January, 1951
VWL2084 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500914 September 14th, 1950
VWL2076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500816 16th August, 1950
VWL2069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19500726 26th July, 1950
VWL2018 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500712 12th July, 1950
VWL1989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL1987 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500330 30th March, 1950
VWL1984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500322 22nd March, 1950
VWL1980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500305 1st March, 1950
VWL1979 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500222 22nd February, 1950
VWL3054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.M. Martin 19491228 28th December, 1949
VWL2851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481118 18th November, 1948.
VWL2581 Letter from Robert Müller-Hartmann to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480321 21st March 1948

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