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
VWL367 Letter from A.E. Housman to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19101203 3 Dec. l910
VWL174 Letter from A.E. Housman to Ralph Vaughan Williams 190910-- [October 1909]
VWL1831 Letter from A.H. Fox-Strangways to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19431225 Xmas 1943
VWL1207 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370906 Monday smorn [6th September 1937]
VWL1212 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370908 Wednesday smorn [8th September 1937]
VWL1095 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19330904 Monday [4th September 1933]
VWL1206 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370905 Sunday aft [5th September 1937]
VWL1336 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19380712 Tuesday [12 July 1938]
VWL1366 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19380721 Thur [21 July 1938]
VWL1208 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370906 Monday eve [6th September 1937]
VWL981 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19360831 Monday smorn [31st August 1936]
VWL1211 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370907 Tuesday aftn [7th September 1937]
VWL1335 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19380711 Monday [11 July 1938]
VWL1365 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19380718 Monday [18 July 1938]
VWL1360 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19380715 Friday smorn [15 July 1938]
VWL1791 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430627 27 June 1943
VWL704 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350422 22/4/35.
VWL5195 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390320 20 March 1939
VWL1865 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19440214 14th February 1944
VWL3733 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370123 23.1.37.
VWL3738 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19450109 Jan 9th, 1945.
VWL3757 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550922 September 22nd, 1955.
VWL3758 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471205 December 5th, 1947.
VWL3760 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551004 4th October 1955.
VWL3764 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551005 November 5th, 1955.
VWL3723 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370130 30.1.37.
VWL3740 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19401106 November 6th, 1940
VWL3765 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551028 28th October 1955.
VWL3767 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550929 September 29th, 1955.
VWL3778 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19561206 6th December 1956.

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