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
VWL2950 Foreword from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Society for the Promotion of New Music 195403-- [About March 1954]
VWL1336 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19380712 Tuesday [12 July 1938]
VWL3757 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550922 September 22nd, 1955.
VWL2519 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521020 October 20th. [1952]
VWL5227 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Tuesday [1903]
VWL5226 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Monday [1903]
VWL3845 Letter from Olin Downes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430825 August 25, 1943
VWL3005 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19490529 May 29, 1949
VWL1512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390120 Jan 20 [1939]
VWL3403 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560517 May 17th. 1956.
VWL2302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470626 June 26 1947
VWL3981 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19301226 26 Dec 1932
VWL3996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19510808 8 Aug 1951
VWL3995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19501115 15th November, 1950.
VWL2605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 195210-- [October 1952?]
VWL705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19350427 April 27 [1935]
VWL4976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19380516 May 16 [1938]
VWL3002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Butterworth 19490525 25th May, 1949
VWL5220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bridget Fry 19430831 August 31st [1943]
VWL4707 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bruce L. Richmond 19451015 Oct 15th 1945
VWL1073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19361009 Friday [9 October 1936]
VWL1369 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19380811 Aug 11 [1938]
VWL932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christian Darnton 19360208 Feb 8 [1936]
VWL935 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christian Darnton 19360308 March 8 [1936?]
VWL5203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Griffiths 19420214 Feb 14 [1942]
VWL632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19260701 July 1 [1926]
VWL444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19180608 8/6/18
VWL758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19360714 July 14th [1936]
VWL687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 193912-- [Christmas 1939?]
VWL5120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge 19321218 December 18 [1932]

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