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
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]
VWL2925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19541225 December 25th 1954.
VWL2889 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19541123 November 23rd [1954]
VWL2884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19541106 November 6th 1954.
VWL5321 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540920 [late September 1954]
VWL2872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540905 September 5th 1954
VWL2861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540817 August 17 [1954]
VWL2847 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540728 July 28th 1954.
VWL2846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540724 July 24th 1954
VWL2844 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540721 July 21st 1954.
VWL2817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540508 8.5.45
VWL4166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540314 March 14th 1954
VWL2795 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540228 February 28th [1954]
VWL2793 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540222 February 22nd [1954]
VWL2789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540221 [21 February 1954]
VWL5323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540206 [6th February 1954]
VWL2757 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540122 January 22nd 1954.
VWL5324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540114 January 14th 1954
VWL2750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540103 January 3rd 1954.
VWL2749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531226 December 26th 1953.
VWL2739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531122 November 22nd 1953.
VWL5325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531011 October 11th 1953.
VWL2727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530930 September 30th 1953.
VWL2725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530927 September 27th 1953.

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