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
VWL2895 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Genia Hornstein 1942---- Friday [?1942 or later]
VWL1692 Letter from Ferdinand Rauter to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19420926 26. September 1942
VWL4970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Maud Karpeles to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19400803 3 August 1940.
VWL5046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19400723 [Tuesday July 23, 1940]
VWL1458 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19401004 October 4 [1940]
VWL1468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19401031 October 31 [1940]
VWL1697 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19421009 Oct 9 [1942]
VWL4986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401114 Nov 14 [1940]
VWL4574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Schneeweiss 1942---- Oct 18 [1942?]
VWL1465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401031 Oct 31 [1940]
VWL1473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401125 Nov 25 [1940?]
VWL1476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401213 Dec 13 [1940]
VWL1474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401203 3rd December 1940
VWL1500 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 194010-- [October 1940]
VWL4223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400821 August 21 [1940]
VWL4228 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19401010 Oct 10 [1940]
VWL4224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400828 August 28 [1940]
VWL1680 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ferdinand Rauter 19420816 Aug 16 [1942]
VWL1433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Granville Bantock 19400828 August 28 [1940]
VWL1430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Granville Bantock 19400821 August 21 [1940]
VWL1543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Farjeon 19410627 June 27 [c.1941]
VWL1520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410118 Jan 18 [1941]
VWL1464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19401031 [31 October 1940]
VWL4573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Schneeweiss 1942---- Sept 28 [1942]
VWL4294 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Pearl 19401112 12 November [1940]
VWL1435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 19400906 Sept 6 [1940]
VWL1614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19411226 [26 December 1941]
VWL4969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19401022 Oct 22 [1940]
VWL684 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193910-- Sunday [October 1939]

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