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
VWL1581 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410912 Sep 12 [1941]
VWL1578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19410831 Aug 31 [1941]
VWL1553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410803 Aug 3rd [?1941]
VWL1539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410613 June 13 [1941]
VWL1530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410407 April 7 [1941]
VWL1415 Letter from Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19400416 April 16th, 1940.
VWL1487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (Oxford University Press) 194004-- [About April 1940]
VWL1359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19400120 Jan 20 [1940]
VWL1507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 1940---- [1940]
VWL1226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19391231 Dec 31 [1939]
VWL1567 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19390612 June 12 [1939]
VWL1455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19390106 Jan 6 [?1939]
VWL1445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19381122 November 22 [1938]
VWL1368 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to OUP 19380725 July 25 [1938]
VWL1367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380722 July 22 [1938]
VWL1332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380703 July 3 (1938)
VWL1287 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380420 April 20 [1938]
VWL1284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380325 March 25 [1938]
VWL1283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19380313 March 13 [1938]
VWL1278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380127 January 27 [1938]
VWL1276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380126 [Jan. 26, 1938]
VWL524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 1938---- [about 1938]
VWL1248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19371025 [24 Oct 1937]
VWL1170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL1169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370711 July 11 1937
VWL1175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370427 April 27 [1937]
VWL1173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL1160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370314 Sunday [14th March 1937]
VWL1158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370301 Monday [1st March 1937?]
VWL1144 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370225 February 25 [1937]

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