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
VWL4016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400104 Jan 4th [1940]
VWL4025 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19470526 May 26 1947
VWL4026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19480512 May 12 1948
VWL4014 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19381030 Oct 30 [1938]
VWL4015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19391226 Dec 26 1939
VWL4022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19411117 Nov 17 1941
VWL4023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19440313 [13 March 1944]
VWL4055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19550306 March 6th 1955.
VWL4010 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19311126 November 26th, 1931.
VWL4017 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400111 Jan 11 [1940]
VWL4020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400404 April 4 [1940]
VWL4024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19420111 Jan 11th 1942
VWL4027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19480108 [8 January 1948]
VWL4057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19570502 May 2nd [1957]
VWL1392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Pilgrim Trust 19400403 April 3 [1940]
VWL4642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Post Office 19570125 January 25th 1957.
VWL3271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Frank Rust 19580803 [Aug. 3rd 1959]
VWL3507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Frank Rust 195807-- [July 1958]
VWL1880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Leonard Starey 19450315 [c.15th March 1945]
VWL667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Royal College of Music 19290322 March 22 1929
VWL4635 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of Morley College 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL5177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society 19530128 Jan 28 1953
VWL5178 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society 19530511 May 11 [1953]
VWL5176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society Ltd 19530415 15th April, 1953.
VWL3210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Royal Musical Association 19551022 [22 October 1955]
VWL4972 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19460806 Aug 6 [1946]
VWL4975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19350405 [5 April 1935]
VWL4969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19401022 Oct 22 [1940]
VWL4971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19480429 29th April, 1948.
VWL4974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19381016 Oct 16 [1938]

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