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
VWL2986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490428 28th April, l949.
VWL2987 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490428 28th April, 1949.
VWL4323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Thomas Beecham 19490428 28th April, 1949.
VWL3771 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19490421 April 21 1949
VWL4125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19490420 20th April, 1949.
VWL2984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19490419 April 19th, 1949
VWL5111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frits Stegmann 19490413 13th April, 1949.
VWL2983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490413 13th April, 1949.
VWL2982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19490406 6th April, 1949.
VWL2981 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.M. Martin 19490406 6th April, 1949
VWL1848 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote 194904-- [?April 1949]
VWL2980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490331 March 31 1949
VWL2979 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19490330 30th March, 1949
VWL2977 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490330 March 30 [1949]
VWL2978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs H.F. Stewart 19490330 30th March, 1949.
VWL4310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis Tate 19490330 30th March, 1949.
VWL1883 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19490328 Wednesday [?28 March 1949]
VWL2976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19490325 25th March, 1949.
VWL2973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL4749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL3752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL2974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the conductors and the choirs of the Leith Hill Musical Festival 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL5256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Abraham 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL5210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL2975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the various schools taking part in the Dorking Passions 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL2972 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490321 March 21 [1949]
VWL1882 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19490317 March 17 [1949]
VWL2971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19490317 [17 March 1949]
VWL2970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19490316 16th March, 1949.
VWL2968 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Watkins 19490316 16th March, 1949

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