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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL2950 Foreword from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Society for the Promotion of New Music 195403-- [About March 1954]
VWL2951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 195403-- [March 1954]
VWL2789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540221 [21 February 1954]
VWL2786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540210 February 10th 1954.
VWL2763 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540202 [early February 1954]
VWL2761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540126 January 26th 1954
VWL2760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540125 January 25th. [1954]
VWL2758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540122 [January 22 1954]
VWL2755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540120 [January 20] 1954
VWL4434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cyril Clarke 19540110 January 10th 1954.
VWL4480 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19540103 January 3rd 1954.
VWL3936 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 1954---- March 10 [1954-1958]
VWL3691 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1954---- [about 1954?]
VWL2928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alan Barlow 1954---- [1954?]
VWL3690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1954---- [1954?]
VWL4209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19531231 December 31st 1953.
VWL2749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531226 December 26th 1953.
VWL4916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19531225 Dec 25 [about 1953?]
VWL4423 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer of the Leith Hill Musical Festival 19531223 December 23rd 1953.
VWL5084 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19531220 Dec 20 [1953 or later]
VWL2745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL4208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL2744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531208 December 8th 1953.
VWL2743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL2737 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ferdinand Rauter 19531026 Oct 26 [1953 or later]
VWL5022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19531018 October 18th 1953.
VWL4922 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 19531016 October 16, 1953
VWL2735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19531015 Oct 15 [1953]
VWL2734 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult and Ann Boult 19531014 Oct 14 [1953]
VWL2732 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19531013 Oct 13 [1953]

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