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
VWL3299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19580522 May 22nd 1958
VWL3590 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL4273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570529 May 29 1957
VWL3519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570512 May 12th 1957.
VWL3483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL3476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570401 April 1st 1957.
VWL3472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570324 March 24th 1957
VWL3467 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570221 February 21st 1957.
VWL3460 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570122 January 22nd 1957.
VWL4336 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19570118 January 18th 1957
VWL3373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560901 Sept 1 [1956]
VWL3370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560828 August 28th 1956.
VWL3351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560708 July 8th 1956.
VWL3343 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560616 June 16th 1956.
VWL3405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3400 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL3293 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560219 February 19th 1956.
VWL3102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550709 July 9th 1955.
VWL2870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19540903 Sept 3rd 1954
VWL4220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540702 July 2nd 1954.
VWL2819 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540509 May 9th 1954.
VWL4282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540502 May 2nd 1954
VWL2951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 195403-- [March 1954]
VWL2795 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540228 February 28th [1954]
VWL2727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530930 September 30th 1953.
VWL2725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530927 September 27th 1953.
VWL2678 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530415 15th April, l953.
VWL2674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19530330 March 30 [1953]
VWL2671 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530318 18th March, 1953.

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