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
VWL1426 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19400612 June 12 1940
VWL4549 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19390104 Jan 4, 1939
VWL5223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent (probably Artur Rodzinski) 19350518 May 18 [1935]
VWL5142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified gentleman 19571020 20? October, 1957
VWL4915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified person 19410102 [Jan 2nd 1941]
VWL5212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified recipient 190----- [early 1900s]
VWL4226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unknown correspondent 19530420 April 20[?] 1953
VWL5216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [1920s]
VWL5213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19231210 Monday [10 December 1923]
VWL5211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [between 1921 and 1929]
VWL5217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- March 13 [1920s]
VWL5210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL1758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19430416 April 16 [1943]
VWL1447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19381201 Dec 1st [1938 or earlier?]
VWL948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19360520 [20 May, or after, 1936]
VWL1728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 1946---- Sunday [1946]
VWL5200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19491007 Friday [7 October 1949]
VWL1838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 194303-- Wednesday [March 1943]
VWL1149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 1932---- [1932?]
VWL1150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 193209-- [September 1932?]
VWL1033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 193212-- [December 1932]
VWL3183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL5304 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Annette Heilbronn 19471017 Oct 17 [1947]
VWL2286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19511114 14th November, 1951
VWL2639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530204 4th February, 1953
VWL2860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19540813 August 13th l954.
VWL2266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510815 15th August, 1951
VWL2296 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19511114 14th November, 1951
VWL2120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19501129 29th November, 1950
VWL3462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19570127 January 27th 1957.

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