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
VWL4882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Neville Coghill and Hal Burton 19510214 14th February, 1951.
VWL4116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Watson 19510207 7th February, 1951.
VWL2188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510207 7th February 1951
VWL4120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19510207 7th February, 1951.
VWL4704 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Page 19510202 2 Feb 1951
VWL4923 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 195102-- Thursday [February 1951]
VWL2179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19510131 31st. January, 1951
VWL4759 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19510126 Thursday [26 Jan 1951]
VWL2177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510124 24th January, 1951
VWL2176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19510124 24th January, 1951
VWL2174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Veronica Wedgwood 19510117 17th January, 1951.
VWL2160 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510108 8 Jan 1951
VWL2159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19510102 Jan 2nd 1951
VWL4244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 1950506 May 6th 1956.
VWL4538 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19501231 New years Eve
VWL2136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19501227 27th December, 1950.
VWL4379 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501226 Dec 26 [1950]
VWL2135 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19501226 [Christmas 1950]
VWL3761 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19501226 December 26th, 1950.
VWL2133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19501220 20th December, 1950.
VWL2132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19501220 20th December, 1950.
VWL2123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19501213 13th December, 1950.
VWL2122 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19501208 8.12.50
VWL3762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19501206 6th December, 1950.
VWL1202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James Craufurd (Madrigal Society) 19501206 6th December, 1950
VWL542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501201 [4 Dec 1950]
VWL2062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195012-- [?December, 1950]
VWL2063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195012-- [?December, 1950]
VWL2121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19501130 Nov 30 [1950]
VWL2120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19501129 29th November, 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