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
VWL3668 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 193401-- [January 1934]
VWL3673 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194808-- [August 1948]
VWL3681 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460521 May 21 [1946]
VWL3688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19571220 December 20th 1957
VWL3669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194006-- [?mid 1940]
VWL3671 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194103-- Sunday [about March or April 1941]
VWL3678 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19400908 Sunday [8th September 1940]
VWL3682 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460705 July 5 [1946]
VWL3683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19470207 Feb 7 [1947]
VWL3684 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19471004 October 4th [1947?]
VWL3675 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19291021 [21 October 1929]
VWL3676 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19330828 28 August 1933
VWL3686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500821 Aug 21 [1950]
VWL3667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 1935---- [1935-1939]
VWL3674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19210205 [5 February 1921]
VWL3677 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19400708 July 8 [1940]
VWL3679 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19410623 June 23 [1941]
VWL3685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL1636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Tippett 19420321 March 21 [1942?]
VWL1606 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Tippett 19411217 Dec 17 [1941]
VWL1518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E. Price 19390227 Feb 27 [1939]
VWL5183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E.M. Butcher 19520522 22. May, 1952.
VWL5184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E.M. Butcher 19520220 20th February, 1952.
VWL1873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Henn Collins 19450211 Feb 11 [1945]
VWL4123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Ibberson 19500322 22nd. March, 1950.
VWL4124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Ibberson 19500308 8th March, 1950.
VWL2086 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Leslie (BBC) 19500920 Sep 20 [1950]
VWL1706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19421015 Oct 15 [1942]
VWL1461 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19401017 Oct 17 [1940]
VWL1619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19391025 Oct 25 [1939]

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