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.

Searching:
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
VWL3233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551218 December 18th 1955.
VWL3956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Royal Philharmonic Society 19570605 June 5 1957
VWL2730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19531011 October 11th 1953.
VWL3319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19560407 April 7th 1956.
VWL2553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19521203 3rd. December, 1952.
VWL171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 190910-- [October 1909]
VWL172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 190910-- [October 1909]
VWL311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191001-- [January 1910]
VWL4113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 1920---- [1920]
VWL165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 190901-- [January 1909]
VWL310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191001-- [January 1910]
VWL318 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191002-- [February 1910]
VWL324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [March 1910]
VWL366 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 19101112 [12th November 1910]
VWL166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 19090403 Sat. [April 3 1909]
VWL323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [March 1910]
VWL753 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 192003-- [March 1920]
VWL164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 190901-- [January 1909]
VWL173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 190909-- [October 1909]
VWL319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191002-- [February 1910]
VWL320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [March 1910]
VWL325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 191003-- [March 1910]
VWL4116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Watson 19510207 7th February, 1951.
VWL3588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland and Kathleen Boughton 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL3631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL3633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19400312 March 12 [early 1940s]
VWL899 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19310118 January 18 [1931]
VWL1279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19350816 August 16 [1935?]
VWL2234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19510515 [15 May 1951]
VWL2245 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19510521 Monday [?21 May 1951]

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