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
VWL3091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ross Lee Finney 19550603 June 3rd 1955.
VWL3473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ross Lee Finney 19570329 March 29th 1957.
VWL1985 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Budden 19500322 22nd March, 1950.
VWL1834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 194711-- [November 1947]
VWL1990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500405 April 5 [1950]
VWL2155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470213 Feb 13 [1947]
VWL2209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510322 March 22 [1951]
VWL2272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510910 Sept 10 [1951]
VWL2359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520127 Jan 27 [1952?]
VWL2405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520423 23rd. April, 1952.
VWL2425 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520603 June 3rd 1952.
VWL2456 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520803 August 3rd 1952.
VWL2471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520921 21. September 1952.
VWL2535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521104 [?4 November 1952]
VWL2718 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530912 September 12th 1953.
VWL2743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL3082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550418 April 18th 1955.
VWL3095 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550615 June 15th 1955.
VWL3186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL1736 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19421215 Dec 15 [1942]
VWL1940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19441015 October 15 [1944]
VWL2002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500614 14th June, 1950
VWL2074 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500809 9th August, 1950
VWL2121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19501130 Nov 30 [1950]
VWL2161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470218 [18 February 1947]
VWL2256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510621 June 21 1951
VWL2261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510701 Sunday [?1 July 1951]
VWL2346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195111-- [probably November 1951]
VWL2607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195211-- [? early November 1952]
VWL2711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530810 August 10th, 1953.

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