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
VWL3838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1948---- [1948?]
VWL2165 Letter from Arnold Barter to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470408 8.iv.47
VWL4741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19451004 Oct 4 [1945]
VWL1952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19441225 Xmas day [1944]
VWL1959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 194410-- [October 1944]
VWL1804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19430917 17.9.43.
VWL1785 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19430607 [7 June 1943]
VWL1752 Letter from Jean Stewart to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430218 18:2:43
VWL3865 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19401226 Dec 26 [about 1940?]
VWL4745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19401019 Oct 19 [early 1940s]
VWL3843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL3860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1940---- [early 1940s]
VWL3870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1940---- [early 1940s?]
VWL3877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 194----- [1940s?]
VWL3882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 194----- Wed. [1940s?]
VWL3886 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 194----- Nov 2 [1940s]
VWL3885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19391028 [late October 1939]
VWL3862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19380520 [about 20 May 1938]
VWL4467 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19380312 March 12 [1938?]
VWL3876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19370226 [Late February 1937]
VWL1113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361226 [26th December 1936]
VWL3867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193505-- [May 1935]
VWL3866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19350417 [late April 1935]
VWL186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19350117 Jan 17th [1935]
VWL4742 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19350101 [early 1935]
VWL3859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935---- Tues 11 [late 1930s?]
VWL3863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935---- [mid 1930s?]
VWL3840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935---- Jan 19 [mid-1930s?]
VWL3841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935---- [mid 1930s?]
VWL3818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935--- Xmas Eve [1935?]

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