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
VWL5085 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19440709 Sunday [July 1944]
VWL3646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 194405-- [?May 1944]
VWL1866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL5271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vinicio Barocas 19440103 Jan 3/44
VWL3954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 1944---- Oct 18 [1944]
VWL5094 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19431228 Dec 28 [1943?]
VWL5064 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19431226 Dec 26 [1943]
VWL1822 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19431220 Dec 20 [?1943 ]
VWL1812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19431020 Oct 20 [?1943]
VWL5199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19430907 Sept 7 [1943]
VWL2896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Susanne Müller-Hartmann 19430901 Sept 1st [1943]
VWL5207 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430622 June 22 [1943]
VWL5206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430608 June 8 1943
VWL1785 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19430607 [7 June 1943]
VWL5158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19430216 [16 February 1943]
VWL1702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19421013 Oct 13 [1942]
VWL3672 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194203-- [About March 1942]
VWL5203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Griffiths 19420214 Feb 14 [1942]
VWL3679 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19410623 June 23 [1941]
VWL5087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19410310 March 10 [1941]
VWL3671 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194103-- Sunday [about March or April 1941]
VWL1483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19401231 Dec 31 [1940]
VWL3678 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19400908 Sunday [8th September 1940]
VWL3670 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194009-- Tuesday [September 1940]
VWL3677 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19400708 July 8 [1940]
VWL3669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194006-- [?mid 1940]
VWL5097 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19400324 Easter Sunday [March 24 1940]
VWL5145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary 19400321 March 21 [ca 1940]
VWL5144 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daphne 1940---- [ca 1940]
VWL5269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gillian Addis 194-0519 May 19 [1940s]

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