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
VWL662 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Clifford 193903-- [Early 1939]
VWL184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19350106 [6 January 1935]
VWL1588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19411117 Nov 17 [1947]
VWL1843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 194311-- [1943]
VWL2195 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510221 21st. February, 1951
VWL2258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510624 [24th June 1951]
VWL2260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510627 27th June, 1951
VWL2294 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19511114 Nov 14 [1951]
VWL2495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19521014 October 14th 1952
VWL2614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19350329 March 29 [before 1935]
VWL719 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19350219 June 6 [1935]
VWL828 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 192910-- [?late 1929]
VWL1050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19330318 March 18 [1933]
VWL1066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19330720 [20th July l933]
VWL1713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19421020 Oct 20 [1942]
VWL1734 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19421113 Nov 13 [1942]
VWL1981 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19500315 15th March, l950.
VWL2177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510124 24th January, 1951
VWL2198 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510228 28th February, 1951
VWL2236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510517 17th May, 1951
VWL2320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19511205 5th December 1951
VWL2361 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520202 2nd February, 1952
VWL2383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520317 March 17 [1952]
VWL2632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530201 [1st February 1953]
VWL4764 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19380608 [8] June, 1938
VWL2536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19521110 November 10th 1952.
VWL2548 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19521119 19th November, l952.
VWL2624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL2677 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530415 15th April, 1953

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