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
VWL1784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430523 May 23 [1943]
VWL1764 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430521 [May 21st 1943]
VWL4558 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL4473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL1763 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL1762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19430510 May 10 [1943]
VWL1761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430506 May 6 [1943]
VWL1760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19430501 May 1st 1943
VWL1758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19430416 April 16 [1943]
VWL1757 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19430411 April 11 [1943]
VWL1759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430403 April 3rd [1943?]
VWL1755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19430315 March 15 [1943]
VWL1754 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Oxford University Press 19430309 [9 March 1943]
VWL1839 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194303-- [March 1943]
VWL1840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194303-- [March 1943]
VWL1841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 194303-- [March 1943]
VWL1838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 194303-- Wednesday [March 1943]
VWL1753 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19430222 22 February [1943]
VWL1752 Letter from Jean Stewart to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430218 18:2:43
VWL5158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19430216 [16 February 1943]
VWL1751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19430216 [16 February, 1942]
VWL1750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19430215 Feb 15 [1943]
VWL1749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19430209 Feb 9 [1943]
VWL1748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19430205 Feb 5 1943
VWL1747 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19430131 January 31st [1943]
VWL1746 Letter from Ralph Wedgwood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430127 27.i.43
VWL1745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19430121 Jan 21 1943
VWL3932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19430119 Jan 19 1943
VWL1744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430117 Jan 17 [1943]
VWL1739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major General Robert Lock 19430114 January 14 [1943]

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