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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL2117 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19501103 Friday [3rd November 1950]
VWL4378 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500815 August 15 [1950]
VWL2490 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521014 [14th October 1952]
VWL2619 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530122 Jan 22nd [1953]
VWL2519 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521020 October 20th. [1952]
VWL2068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19500719 19th July 1950.
VWL2061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 195011-- [November 1950]
VWL3181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550814 August 14th 1955.
VWL3370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560828 August 28th 1956.
VWL4279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530205 Feb 5 1953
VWL2119 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19501112 Nov 12 [1950]
VWL2524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521027 October 27th 1952.
VWL4280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521110 Nov 10 [1952]
VWL2081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500901 1st. September, 1950.
VWL2525 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521210 10 Dec. 1952
VWL4276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500727 July 27 [1950]
VWL4281 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561018 October 18th 1956.
VWL4273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570529 May 29 1957
VWL2491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19521019 October 19th 1952.
VWL2075 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500814 August 14 [1950]
VWL2107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501014 Oct. 14 [1950]
VWL2175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510122 Jan 22 [1951]
VWL4277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500817 Aug 17 [1950?]
VWL2115 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501030 Oct. 30 [1950]
VWL4150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510413 April 13 [1951?]
VWL4275 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510115 Jan 15 [1951]
VWL2178 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510124 24th January, 1951.
VWL4274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501201 Dec 1 [1950]
VWL3793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500607 7th June, 1950.
VWL3796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500711 July 11 [1950]

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