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
VWL3049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Mary Grierson 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL4635 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of Morley College 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL3687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500920 20th September, 1950.
VWL4733 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 19500915 Sept 15 [early 1950s]
VWL5031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19500914 Sept 14 [1950?]
VWL4278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500909 Sept 9th 1950
VWL2916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500908 8th September, 1950.
VWL2082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500908 [About 8th September 1950]
VWL3686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500821 Aug 21 [1950]
VWL2077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19500820 Aug 20th 1950
VWL4277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500817 Aug 17 [1950?]
VWL3046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19500816 16 August 1950
VWL2075 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500814 August 14 [1950]
VWL3798 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500802 2nd. August, 1950.
VWL4276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500727 July 27 [1950]
VWL3797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500726 26th July, 1950.
VWL1187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19500724 July 24 [1950?]
VWL2068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19500719 19th July 1950.
VWL2067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Headmaster, Charterhouse School 19500719 19th July, 1950.
VWL2065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19500716 [July 16th, 1950?]
VWL1978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Radio Times 19500716 July 16th 1950
VWL2050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500712 12th July, 1950.
VWL3796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500711 July 11 [1950]
VWL2017 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to R.L. Eastwood 19500705 5th July, 1950.
VWL3795 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500702 2 July 1950
VWL2059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote 195007-- [About July 1950]
VWL5003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Brooke at Novello & Co. 19500628 28th June, 1950.
VWL2010 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19500628 28th June, 1950.
VWL2005 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500622 22nd. June, 1950.
VWL2003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19500620 [About 20th June 1950]

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