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
VWL3346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560629 [29 June 1956]
VWL3344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560627 June 27th 1956.
VWL3343 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560616 June 16th 1956.
VWL4169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL3409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19560524 [24th May 1956]
VWL3407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3403 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560517 May 17th. 1956.
VWL3400 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL3388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560422 April 22nd 1956.
VWL3359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560412 April 12th 1956
VWL3317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560401 April 1st 1956.
VWL3293 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560219 February 19th 1956.
VWL3292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560217 February 17th 1956.
VWL3260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560129 January 29th 1956.
VWL3225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551117 November 17th 1955.
VWL3215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551102 November 2nd 1955.
VWL3203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551009 October 9th 1955.
VWL3185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL3181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550814 August 14th 1955.
VWL3104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550724 July 24th 1955.
VWL3102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550709 July 9th 1955.
VWL3087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550505 May 5th 1955.
VWL3074 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550402 April 2nd 1955.
VWL3073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550327 March 27th 1955.
VWL3072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550327 March 27th 1955.
VWL4167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550306 March 6th 1955.
VWL3065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550227 February 27th 1955.
VWL2995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550208 February 8th 1955.
VWL2994 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550203 February 3rd 1955.
VWL2965 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550103 Jan 3 [1955]

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