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
VWL1880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Leonard Starey 19450315 [c.15th March 1945]
VWL4523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19450209 Feb 9 [1945?]
VWL1871 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450201 Feb 1 [1945]
VWL1667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1945---- [Sometime between 1938 and 1946]
VWL1949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19441203 Dec 3 [1944]
VWL5066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19441014 Oct 14 [1944]
VWL1926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440813 Aug 13 [1944]
VWL5196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440802 Aug 2d [1944]
VWL3646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 194405-- [?May 1944]
VWL1820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19431127 Nov 27 [1943]
VWL3845 Letter from Olin Downes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430825 August 25, 1943
VWL1793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430726 July 26 [1943]
VWL1759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430403 April 3rd [1943?]
VWL344 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19421109 9 Nov. 1942
VWL1702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19421013 Oct 13 [1942]
VWL1676 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19420715 July 15 [1942]
VWL4127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19420705 July 5 [1942]
VWL1630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19420126 Jan 26 [1942]
VWL1627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19420111 Jan 11 1942
VWL1450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19411218 Dec 18 [1941]
VWL4990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19411014 Oct 14 1941
VWL5138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Rogers 1940---- [ca 1940]
VWL1226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19391231 Dec 31 [1939]
VWL1596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Myra Hess 19391005 Oct 5 [1939]
VWL3928 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390412 12th April, 1939
VWL1557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390325 March 25 [1939]
VWL1519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19390302 Thursday [2 March 1939]
VWL1509 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390109 Monday [9th January 1939]
VWL1455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19390106 Jan 6 [?1939]
VWL1446 Letter from Donald Francis Tovey to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19381129 29th November, 1938.

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