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
VWL2852 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481124 24th November, 1948.
VWL5188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Johannesburg City Orchestra 19481118 18th November 1948
VWL2851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481118 18th November, 1948.
VWL2850 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481104 4th November, 1948.
VWL2849 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19481104 4th November, 1948.
VWL3051 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor Arthur Hutchings 19481029 October 29 [1948]
VWL2848 Letter from Ursula Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19481026 Tuesday [26 October 1948]
VWL2839 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19481026 Oct 26th [1948]
VWL2838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19481022 Oct 22/48
VWL2837 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Hamber 19481020 20th October, 1948.
VWL2835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Young 19481020 20th October, 1948.
VWL2836 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Derek G. Smith 19481020 20th October, 1948.
VWL5282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Carter 19481017 [17 October 1948]
VWL2915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Müller-Hartmann and Hornstein families 19481016 Oct 16 [about 1948?]
VWL5252 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL2810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19481014 Oct 14 [1948]
VWL2833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL4654 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19481014 Oct 14 [1948]
VWL3753 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorking Madrigal Society 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL2809 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker and others 19481014 14th October, 1948
VWL2834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19481014 14th December [i.e. October], 1948.
VWL5255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beatrice Harrison 19481014 14 October, 1948.
VWL4284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Richmond 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL2806 Letter from Genia Hornstein to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19481011 11.X.48
VWL2805 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19481007 7th October, 1948.
VWL4714 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Field-Hyde 194810-- [October 1948]
VWL4717 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19480930 30th September, 1948.
VWL2804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19480930 30th September, 1948.
VWL2803 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19480927 Sept 27 [1948?]
VWL2906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19480927 Sep 27 [1948? or later]

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