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
VWL1989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL1984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500322 22nd March, 1950
VWL1981 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19500315 15th March, l950.
VWL1980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19500305 1st March, 1950
VWL3057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491130 Nov 30 [?1949]
VWL5282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Carter 19481017 [17 October 1948]
VWL2801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480919 Sunday [19th September 1948]
VWL2792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480915 Sept 15 1948
VWL3970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peggy Glanville-Hicks 194807-- Sunday [July 1948]
VWL1288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Carter 19480410 10th April 1948
VWL3756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Pritchard 19461128 Nov 28 1946
VWL5032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19461020 Oct 20 [1946]
VWL3632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19460512 May 12 [after 1945]
VWL5271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vinicio Barocas 19440103 Jan 3/44
VWL2722 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19400924 Sep 24 [?1940]
VWL3670 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194009-- Tuesday [September 1940]
VWL5241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19400727 July 27 [1940s]
VWL5041 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of the Musical Times 193909-- [September 1939]
VWL1574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390713 July 13 [1939]
VWL5186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Harvey 19390212 February 12 [1939]
VWL3915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19390203 Feb [3rd 1939]
VWL655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193902-- [Early February 1939]
VWL1513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19390126 January 26 [1939]
VWL665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 193804-- [April 1938]
VWL3249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19380126 [26 Jan 1938]
VWL3810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370728 July 28 [1937]
VWL3811 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370722 July 22 [1937]
VWL3816 Letter from Tamplin & Co. to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370714 14th July, 1937.
VWL3812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370706 July 4th [1937]
VWL3963 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Thistleton 19370405 April 5 [1937]

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