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
VWL2598 Letter from Patrick Hadley to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480508 8 May 1948
VWL3216 Letter from Patrick Hadley to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19551106 6 Nov. ‘55
VWL1322 Letter from Percy Dearmer to Humphrey Milford 19341022 22nd October 1934
VWL2406 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520501 May 1, 1952
VWL3005 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19490529 May 29, 1949
VWL3193 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19580925 Sept. 25, 1958
VWL569 Letter from Percy Scholes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240919 19.9.24
VWL3921 Letter from Peter and Ilse [Meyer] to Alan Bush 19370115 15/1/37.
VWL3737 Letter from Peter and Ilse to Alan Bush 19370117 Sunday, 17/1/37.
VWL4677 Letter from R.O. Morris to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1935---- Thursday [1935]
VWL1624 Letter from R.O.Morris to Alice Sumsion 19420103 Jan 3 1942
VWL4539 Letter from Ralph and Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joyce Finzi 19510221 Feb 21 [1951]
VWL2694 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530620 June 20th 1953.
VWL2742 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL3663 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550914 Sept 14th 1955
VWL3952 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530216 February 16th [1953]
VWL2921 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 1953---- [1953-1957]
VWL4352 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19520214 14.2.52
VWL980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19410821 Aug 21 [?1941]
VWL1436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19400906 Septr 6, 1940
VWL4554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19130113 Jan 13th 1913,
VWL543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240322 22/3/24
VWL5231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Philip Hendy 19540324 [March 24 1954]
VWL5069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Geoffrey Bush to the Editor of The Times 19570405 Friday 5 April, 1957
VWL5044 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and many others to the Editor of The Times 19381118 18 November [1939]
VWL4970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Maud Karpeles to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19400803 3 August 1940.
VWL5045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19450111 January 11 [1945]
VWL940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to Edward Elgar 19310909 [9th September 1931]
VWL5057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of Music and Letters 19350308 March 8, 1935.
VWL5041 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of the Musical Times 193909-- [September 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