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
VWL151 Draft notes by Ralph Vaughan Williams relating to Cecil Sharp’s English Folksongs (London 1907) 190705-- [?May 1907]
VWL4460 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19001004 [4 October 1900]
VWL295 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980530 30th May [1898]
VWL3765 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551028 28th October 1955.
VWL3786 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551118 18th November 1955.
VWL421 Letter from Charles Hubert Parry to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19150119 Jany 19. 1915
VWL428 Letter from Charles Hubert Parry to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19170226 Febry 26. 1917
VWL5227 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Tuesday [1903]
VWL5228 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Saturday [1903]
VWL5226 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Monday [1903]
VWL3766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551023 October 23rd 1955.
VWL3200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551002 October 2nd 1955.
VWL3002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Butterworth 19490525 25th May, 1949
VWL2836 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Derek G. Smith 19481020 20th October, 1948.
VWL955 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360715 [15th July 1936]
VWL163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 190811-- [November 1908]
VWL2060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 195012-- [December 1950?]
VWL2574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480302 March 2 [1948]
VWL247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 189707-- [July 1897]
VWL5003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Brooke at Novello & Co. 19500628 28th June, 1950.
VWL4896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1953---- [1953?]
VWL3201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL3348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560701 July 1st 1956.
VWL3608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320814 August 14 [1932]
VWL891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193006-- [About June 1930]
VWL3217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Fiske (BBC) 19551108 November 8th 1955.
VWL2586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19480402 2nd April, 1948.
VWL5131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Listener 19560809 [9 August, 1956]
VWL2572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musical Times 19480227 February 27th. 1948.
VWL3698 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19590115 January 15th 1959

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