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
VWL5043 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19560121 [Saturday January 21, 1956]
VWL5046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19400723 [Tuesday July 23, 1940]
VWL5054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19450416 [April 16 1945]
VWL5056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19510730 [Monday July 30 1951]
VWL5047 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19551223 [Friday December 23, 1955]
VWL5068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19560327 Tuesday 27 March, 1956
VWL5055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19360818 August 18 [1936]
VWL5071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19570916 [Monday 16 September, 1957]
VWL5067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19561016 16 October, 1956
VWL3974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams for Clarence Pinnock 19380502 May 2d 1938
VWL4035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams for the Coldharbour parish magazine 19311022 [22 October 1931]
VWL1699 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams Geoffrey Bush 19421012 Oct 14 [1942]
VWL4031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams seeking funds for Dorking and Leith Hill Preservation Society 19420305 March 3rd [1942]
VWL477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr & Mrs Robert F. McEwen 19210722 [22nd July 1921]
VWL266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 189808-- [August 1898]
VWL3587 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary, Society of Authors 19571015 15th October 1957
VWL1370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380817 [17th August 1938]
VWL4551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to “Moppett” 19551226 December 26th, 1955.
VWL3630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to ? Cecil Sharp 19061127 27 Nov 1906
VWL4547 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to a representative of the British Legion 19231019 October 19 [1923]
VWL982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A. Wynn (BBC) 19360921 Sep 20 [1936]
VWL1091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A. Wynn (BBC) 19361010 Oct 10th [1936]
VWL748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A. Wynn (BBC) 19350626 June 26 [1935]
VWL4624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.E. Harvey 19520430 30th April, 1952.
VWL1046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.H. Fox-Strangways 19330220 Feb. 20 [?1933]
VWL2647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.J. Patterson 19530211 11 Feb. 1953
VWL1255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19371205 Dec 5 [1937]
VWL1738 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19421226 Dec 26 [1942]
VWL1814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19431026 Oct 26 [1943]
VWL1580 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19410912 Sept 12 [1941?]

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