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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
VWL4853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19320617 June 17 [1932?]
VWL4856 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193-- [1933 or later]
VWL4848 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19330220 [late February 1933]
VWL4855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 1930---- [1930s?]
VWL2265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Tranchell 19510808 8th August, 1951.
VWL5163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Catelinet 19550118 [18 January 1955]
VWL3321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Henderson 19370131 January 31 [1937]
VWL3931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Heseltine 192----- [1920s]
VWL3930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Heseltine 1924---- [1924?]
VWL5274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Hope Edward Bagenal 19230410 10/4/23
VWL4696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Mackay 19571017 [17 Oct 1957]
VWL5012 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philippa Strachey 19560927 September 27th 1956
VWL5141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis 19551130 [ca 1955]
VWL4311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis Tate 19350330 30 March 1935
VWL4310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis Tate 19490330 30th March, 1949.
VWL3802 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Pietro Lauricella 19291031 Oct 31 [about 1929]
VWL3081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Porter Kier 19550418 April 18th 1955.
VWL3051 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor Arthur Hutchings 19481029 October 29 [1948]
VWL1571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19390625 June 25 [1939]
VWL1331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19380626 Sunday [26 June l938]
VWL1301 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19380522 Sunday [22 May 1938]
VWL696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 193905-- [?May 1939]
VWL1245 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19371003 Oct 3rd [1937]
VWL1513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19390126 January 26 [1939]
VWL1205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19370816 August 16 1937
VWL1303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19380530 Monday [30 May 1938]
VWL4638 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor Hermann Fiedler 19381119 Nov 19 [1938]
VWL205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to R.A. Streatfeild 19060701 July 1st [1906]
VWL2414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to R.C. Walton (BBC) 19520522 22nd. May, 1952.
VWL2017 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to R.L. Eastwood 19500705 5th July, 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