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
VWL3505 ‘The Fifteenth Variation’: Transcript of VW’s contribution to Elgar Centenary Programme on the BBC from the recording 195705-- [May 1957]
VWL3004 Letter from Adrian Boult to Adeline Vaughan Williams 19490526 May 26th 1949
VWL2357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19520116 16th January, 1952.
VWL4160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520202 2nd. February, 1952.
VWL463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Edward Sayle 19200314 14/3/20
VWL412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141010 [c.10th October 1914]
VWL577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250215 Feb 15th [c 1925]
VWL361 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19100501 [Before 6th May 1910]
VWL396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140401 [About 1st April 1914]
VWL788 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192405-- [Before 5th June 1924]
VWL575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250113 Jan 13 [1925]
VWL737 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192608-- [16 August 1926]
VWL330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 1910---- [mid 1910?]
VWL349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141006 Oct 6th [1914]
VWL409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141001 [About 1 October 1914]
VWL413 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141012 [c.12th October 1914]
VWL414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141101 Nov 1st [1914]
VWL415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141024 [24th October 1914]
VWL422 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19150424 [24 May 1915]
VWL441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19180226 Feb 26th [1918]
VWL1462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401021 Oct 21 [1940]
VWL304 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 1911---- [1911]
VWL329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191006-- [?Middle of 1910]
VWL350 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141006 Oct 14th [1914]
VWL351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191411-- [November 1914]
VWL557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19240605 [c. September 1924]
VWL846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19300310 March 10th [1930]
VWL915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19310521 Thursday May 21 [1931]
VWL322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191003-- [Towards end of March 1910]
VWL348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191409-- [September 1914]

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