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
VWL2587 Letter from Gwen Beckett (BBC) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480413 13th April 1948.
VWL2586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19480402 2nd April, 1948.
VWL2570 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Rutland (BBC) 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL2513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19471227 27th December, 1947.
VWL2323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright 19471001 1st October, 1947.
VWL2342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe (BBC) 19470820 20th August, 1947.
VWL2316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe (BBC) 19470814 14th August, 1947.
VWL2311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL2309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Music Librarian (BBC) 19470721 July 21 [1947]
VWL2185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19470531 31st May, 1947.
VWL2166 Internal BBC memorandum to the Home News Editor from Sir Adrian Boult 19470418 April 18th 1947
VWL2140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the BBC 19461119 Nov 19/46
VWL2040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19460528 May 28 [1946]
VWL2039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Isaacs (BBC) 19460505 May 5th 1946.
VWL1891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19450525 May 25 [1945]
VWL1889 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19450514 May 14th 1945.
VWL1877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19450305 March 5 [1945]
VWL1942 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson 19441025 Oct 25th [1944]
VWL1937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19441013 [13 October 1944]
VWL1959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 194410-- [October 1944]
VWL1933 Letter from James W. Welch (BBC) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19440912 12th September, 1944.
VWL1931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19440903 Sept 3 [1944]
VWL1927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19440818 August 18 [1944]
VWL1907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19440326 March 26 [1944]
VWL1906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19440319 March 19 [1944]
VWL1905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19440312 March 12 [1944]
VWL1902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440309 March 9 [1944]
VWL1901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440305 [About 5th March 1944]
VWL1863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.R. Barnes at the BBC 19440208 Feb 8 1944
VWL1861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood at the BBC 19440121 Jan 21 [1944]

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