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
VWL2290 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19511031 31st. October, 1951
VWL2291 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19511031 31st October, 1951.
VWL2288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19511024 24th October, 1951.
VWL2289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19511024 24th October, 1951
VWL2285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19511024 24th October, 1951
VWL5005 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James Craufurd (Madrigal Society) 19511017 17th October, 1951
VWL2282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19511017 17th October, 1951.
VWL4730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Dickinson 19511016 Oct 16 [1951]
VWL2492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19511014 Oct 14 [1951]
VWL2278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Russell 19511012 12th October 1951
VWL4354 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19511012 12th October, 1951.
VWL2276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19511003 [3 October 1951]
VWL3849 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19510926 26th September, 1951.
VWL2273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19510919 19th Septr., 1951.
VWL2272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510910 Sept 10 [1951]
VWL2271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19510831 31st. August, 1951.
VWL4327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams’s cat to Marjory Jordan 19510829 Aug 29 1951
VWL2267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510818 18.8.51
VWL2266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510815 15th August, 1951
VWL3996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19510808 8 Aug 1951
VWL2264 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr and Mrs Victor Sheppard 19510808 8th August, 1951.
VWL2053 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510717 [17 July 1951]
VWL1893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19510707 Saturday [?7th July 1951]
VWL2263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19510706 6th July, 1951.
VWL2261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510701 Sunday [?1 July 1951]
VWL2260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510627 27th June, 1951
VWL2259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19510627 27th June, 1951.
VWL2258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510624 [24th June 1951]
VWL2257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510622 June 22 [1951]
VWL2256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510621 June 21 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