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
VWL5146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Janet Fraser 19470902 2nd September, 1947.
VWL3644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19470828 Aug 28 [1947]
VWL4046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Emily Kreibich 19470827 27th August, 1947.
VWL2317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470820 20th August, 1947.
VWL2342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe (BBC) 19470820 20th August, 1947.
VWL2316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe (BBC) 19470814 14th August, 1947.
VWL2315 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470814 14th August, 1947
VWL3641 Letter from Edmund Rubbra to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470808 [8 August 1947]
VWL2312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL2313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL3621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL2314 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL2311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL4748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL4438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eleanor Farjeon 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL2310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19470728 [28th July 1947]
VWL2183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19470724 July 24 [1947?]
VWL2309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Music Librarian (BBC) 19470721 July 21 [1947]
VWL2308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19470717 17th July, 1947.
VWL4959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19470713 Sunday [13 July 1947]
VWL5247 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19470711 July 11 1947
VWL2307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470710 July 10 [1947]
VWL2306 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470709 9th July, 1947.
VWL5063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19470706 July 6 [1947]
VWL4958 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19470706 July 6 [1947]
VWL2305 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470704 July 4th [1947]
VWL2303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19470703 3rd July, 1947
VWL2304 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470703 3rd July, 1947.
VWL2302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470626 June 26 1947
VWL2300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470625 25th June, 1947.

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