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
VWL2143 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19471218 Dec 18 [1947]
VWL2399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19471017 Oct 17 1947
VWL2324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19471004 Oct 4th 1947
VWL2323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright 19471001 1st October, 1947.
VWL5146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Janet Fraser 19470902 2nd September, 1947.
VWL2316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe (BBC) 19470814 14th August, 1947.
VWL3621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL4959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19470713 Sunday [13 July 1947]
VWL4958 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19470706 July 6 [1947]
VWL2185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19470531 31st May, 1947.
VWL2166 Internal BBC memorandum to the Home News Editor from Sir Adrian Boult 19470418 April 18th 1947
VWL2162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe 19470221 Feb 21 [1947]
VWL2148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470113 Jan 13 [1947]
VWL2096 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19460917 Sept 17 [1946?]
VWL4679 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460801 Thursday morning [1 August 1946]
VWL2042 Letter from Jean Sibelius to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19460618 June 18, 1946
VWL2041 Letter from Jean Stewart to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460601 i vi 46
VWL1856 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460411 Thursday [April 11 1946]
VWL2026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19460115 Jan 15 [1946]
VWL4525 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1946-- [November, 1946]
VWL4668 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19451106 Tueday [Nov 6 1945]
VWL1884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450401 April 1 [1945]
VWL4523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19450209 Feb 9 [1945?]
VWL1845 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19450204 Sunday [4 February 1945]
VWL1932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reverend James Welch 19440908 Sept 8 [1944]
VWL5196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440802 Aug 2d [1944]
VWL1916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19440522 May 22 [1944]
VWL1910 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440404 [4th April 1944]
VWL1907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19440326 March 26 [1944]
VWL1863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.R. Barnes at the BBC 19440208 Feb 8 1944

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