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
VWL1173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL3364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560818 August 18th 1956.
VWL3373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560901 Sept 1 [1956]
VWL3403 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560517 May 17th. 1956.
VWL3483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL3520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19571029 October 29th 1957
VWL2348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520102 2nd. January, 1952.
VWL2367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520219 Feb 19 [1952]
VWL2368 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520220 20th February, 1952
VWL2465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520909 September 9th [1952]
VWL2469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520917 Sept 17 [1952]
VWL2527 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521029 29th October, 1952.
VWL2528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521105 5th November, 1952.
VWL2551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521127 27th November, 1952.
VWL2633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530212 [About 12 February 1953]
VWL2667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530401 1st. April, 1953.
VWL2673 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530325 25th March, 1953
VWL2696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530621 June 21st 1953.
VWL2700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530703 July 3rd 1953.
VWL2704 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530711 July 11th 1953
VWL2725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530927 September 27th 1953.
VWL2757 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540122 January 22nd 1954.
VWL2778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480716 July 16 [1948]
VWL2789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540221 [21 February 1954]
VWL2872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540905 September 5th 1954
VWL2995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550208 February 8th 1955.
VWL3074 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550402 April 2nd 1955.
VWL3180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490608 8th June, 1949.
VWL3203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551009 October 9th 1955.

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