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
VWL2929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 1953---- [1953 or later]
VWL3219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19551110 November 10th 1955.
VWL3591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL3593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19571016 [16 October, 1957]
VWL3617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 192806-- [June 1928]
VWL4566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Menges 19420913 Sept 13 [1942]
VWL2218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Murrill 19510429 [29 April 1951]
VWL1566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Murrill 19390601 June 1 [1939]
VWL1718 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Murrill 19421023 Oct 23 [1942]
VWL2239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Murrill 19510520 [20 May 1951]
VWL939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310809 August 9 [1931]
VWL1146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [about August 1931]
VWL917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310614 [14 June 1931]
VWL1147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [?August 1931]
VWL331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 191009-- [About September 1910]
VWL332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 191009-- [About September 1910]
VWL371 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 19110608 June 8th [1911]
VWL407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 19140710 July 10th [1914]
VWL695 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herma Fiedler 193807-- [?July 1938]
VWL694 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herma Fiedler 193806-- [Late June 1938]
VWL1305 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herma Fiedler 19380603 June 3 [1938]
VWL643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hermann Fiedler 193707-- [July 1937]
VWL1532 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herwald Ramsbotham 19410501 May 1st 1941
VWL2923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hiromichi Koike 19531208 December 8th 1953 
VWL1484 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hiromichi Koike 19561105 November 5th 1956
VWL3781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 19250409 April 9th [1925]
VWL3782 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 19360517 May 17 [about 1936]
VWL3783 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 1940---- [about 1940?]
VWL3784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 192504-- [April 1925]
VWL2110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert and Dora Foss 19501018 October 18th, 1950

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