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
VWL4954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19470221 Feb 21 [1947]
VWL2162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe 19470221 Feb 21 [1947]
VWL2161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470218 [18 February 1947]
VWL2156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470215 [mid February 1947]
VWL2155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470213 Feb 13 [1947]
VWL2154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19470212 Feb 12 [1947]
VWL3683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19470207 Feb 7 [1947]
VWL2153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19470205 Feb 5 [1947]
VWL2152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Jessie Wood 19470131 Jan 31 [1947]
VWL2151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19470127 [27th January 1947]
VWL2150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470125 Jan 25 [1947]
VWL2149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470123 Jan 23 [1947]
VWL2147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470113 Jan 13 [1947]
VWL2148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470113 Jan 13 [1947]
VWL2146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470103 Jan 3 [1947]
VWL5058 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of the Musical Times 194701-- [January 1947]
VWL5065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 1947---- [1947?]
VWL5129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Penguin Magazine 1947---- [1947]
VWL1730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 1947---- [?1947]
VWL1731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 1947---- [?1947]
VWL5082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 1947---- [1947?]
VWL2145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19461225 Christmas Day [1946?]
VWL3756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Pritchard 19461128 Nov 28 1946
VWL4231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19461125 Nov 25 [1946]
VWL2141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19461125 Nov 25 [1946]
VWL2139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19461113 Nov 13 [1946]
VWL2138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19461109 Nov 9th 1946
VWL2137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19461101 Nov 1 [1946]
VWL4288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Herrmann[?] 19461030 Oct 30 [1946?]
VWL3774 Letter from Robert Müller-Hartmann to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19461028 28th Oct. 1946

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