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
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]
VWL554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 193701-- [About January 1937]
VWL553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 193610-- [About October 1936?]
VWL956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19360719 July 19th [1936]
VWL879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19360208 8 Feb 1936
VWL827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19351213 Dec 13 [1935]
VWL807 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19351019 19 Oct 1935
VWL804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19351012 October 12 [1935]
VWL803 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19351007 October 7 [1935]
VWL313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19350329 March 29 [before 1935]
VWL184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19350106 [6 January 1935]
VWL1346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19341225 Xmas Day
VWL1322 Letter from Percy Dearmer to Humphrey Milford 19341022 22nd October 1934
VWL1271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19340730 [30 Jul 1934]
VWL1192 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Greaves 19340225 Feb 25 [1934]
VWL1122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19340103 [3 January 1934]
VWL1121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19331112 Nov 12 [1933]
VWL1050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19330318 March 18 [1933]
VWL3609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320925 September 25 1932
VWL3608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320814 August 14 [1932]

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