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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL2114 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19501025 25th October, 1950.
VWL2112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19501018 Oct. 18 [1950]
VWL2113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL4122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL4750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19501018 18th October, 1950
VWL4537 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL2108 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Terence Casey 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL2109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J. L. Boston 19501018 18th October, 1950
VWL2110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert and Dora Foss 19501018 October 18th, 1950
VWL2111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL5251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19501018 18th October, 1950
VWL2914 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 19501017 Oct 17 [?1950]
VWL5236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19501016 Oct 16 [1950]
VWL4729 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Dickinson 19501015 Oct 15 [1950]
VWL2106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19501014 Oct 14 [1950]
VWL2107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501014 Oct. 14 [1950]
VWL2105 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL3050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Mary Grierson 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL2104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL4536 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19501011 October 11, [1950]
VWL2103 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL2102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19501007 [7th October 1950?]
VWL2101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Felix Aprahamian 19501005 October 5 [1950]
VWL2089 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19501004 October 4 [1950?]
VWL2090 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19501004 4th October, 1950.
VWL2088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19501003 Oct 3rd [1950]
VWL4427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19501002 2nd October 1950.
VWL4884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 195010-- [late October, about 1950?]
VWL2087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL3049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Mary Grierson 19500927 27th September, 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