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.

Searching:
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
VWL4587 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Standen 19540815 August 15th 1954.
VWL2857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL5193 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Armitage Davison 19540530 May 30th 1954.
VWL5232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19540324 March 24th 1954
VWL5231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Philip Hendy 19540324 [March 24 1954]
VWL5084 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19531220 Dec 20 [1953 or later]
VWL2734 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult and Ann Boult 19531014 Oct 14 [1953]
VWL2729 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19531005 October 5th 1953.
VWL4374 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19530729 29 July, 1953
VWL2706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19530725 28th July 1953
VWL2705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Butterworth 19530718 July 18th. 1953.
VWL5192 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hector Home Walker 19530704 July 4th 1953.
VWL2688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19530528 28th May 1953
VWL2683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19530513 13th May, 1953
VWL5174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Blanning 19530316 March 16th 1953
VWL5088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 1953---- 1953-1957]
VWL1892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank M. Flack 19521022 22nd. October, 1952
VWL4591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians 19521019 Oct 18 [1952]
VWL3852 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19521015 15th October, 1952.
VWL2496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19521014 October 14th 1952.
VWL5208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Snowman 19520905 September 5 [1952?]
VWL3730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520727 July 27th 1952.
VWL2440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520625 25th June, 1952
VWL4564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Susskind 19520610 June 10 [1952]
VWL4428 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Turner Levy 19520416 16th April, 1952
VWL2386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19520403 3rd. April, 1952
VWL2381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19520316 March 16th 1952.
VWL2336 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520102 January 2 [1952]
VWL2321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19511206 [6th December 1951]
VWL5201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Mead 19511024 24th October, 1951.

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