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
VWL3446 Letter from Jean Sibelius to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19561031 31st October 1956.
VWL3291 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560217 Friday 17/II/56
VWL3464 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570211 11/ii/57
VWL3570 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571001 [Early October 1957]
VWL3409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19560524 [24th May 1956]
VWL3373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560901 Sept 1 [1956]
VWL3403 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560517 May 17th. 1956.
VWL3203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551009 October 9th 1955.
VWL3317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560401 April 1st 1956.
VWL3375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580215 February 15th 1958.
VWL3407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551117 November 17th 1955.
VWL3293 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560219 February 19th 1956.
VWL3185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL3400 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL3215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551102 November 2nd 1955.
VWL3343 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560616 June 16th 1956.
VWL2844 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540721 July 21st 1954.
VWL1325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19341106 Nov 6 [1934]
VWL3391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19560503 May 3 [1956]
VWL3405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund and Antoinette Rubbra 19560722 July 22nd 1956.
VWL3397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL3393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL3355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Barbirolli 19560722 July 22nd 1956.
VWL3076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19550418 April 18th 1955.
VWL3404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL2865 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19540902 September 2nd 1954.
VWL3395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL3219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19551110 November 10th 1955.

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