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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL5005 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James Craufurd (Madrigal Society) 19511017 17th October, 1951
VWL3849 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19510926 26th September, 1951.
VWL2255 Letter from Hubert Foss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510620 20th June, 1951
VWL2242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19510520 20 May 1951
VWL3045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19510513 13 May 1951
VWL2225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19510504 4 May 1951
VWL5143 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Elkin 19510430 April 30 1951
VWL2199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19510228 28th February, 1951.
VWL5230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19510124 Jan 24 1951
VWL1202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James Craufurd (Madrigal Society) 19501206 6th December, 1950
VWL3687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500920 20th September, 1950.
VWL3686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500821 Aug 21 [1950]
VWL3046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19500816 16 August 1950
VWL1994 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500517 17 May, 1950.
VWL1991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500503 3rd. May, 1950.
VWL5308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Kahn 19500322 22nd. March, 1950.
VWL1975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500122 Jan 22 [1950]
VWL1974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bruce Flegg 19500119 Jan 19 [1950]
VWL3953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19500108 Jan 8 [1950]
VWL3775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Headmaster [of Charterhouse] 1950---- March 30 [ca. 1950]
VWL3056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19491130 30th November, 1949.
VWL3685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19491020 Oct 20 [1949]
VWL5200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19491007 Friday [7 October 1949]
VWL3173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490702 Saturday [2 July, 1949]
VWL3731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490605 June 5 [1949]
VWL2853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19481124 [24 Nov 1948]
VWL5282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Carter 19481017 [17 October 1948]
VWL5006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James Craufurd (Madrigal Society) 19480909 Sept. 9 [1948]
VWL2790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19480828 Aug 28 [1948]

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