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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3769 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551108 November 8th 1955.
VWL3845 Letter from Olin Downes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430825 August 25, 1943
VWL3846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 19430925 25.9.43.
VWL3909 Letter from LeRoy Van Hoesen, jr to Olin Downes 19550527 May 27, 1955
VWL3910 Letter from Olin Downes to LeRoy Van Hoesen jr 19550602 June 2, 1955
VWL3911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to LeRoy Van Hoesen jr 19550620 June 20th 1955
VWL3917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19430707 July 7 [1943]
VWL4156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511114 14th November, 1951.
VWL4473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL4558 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL4685 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19500914 Thursday [September 14 1950]
VWL4707 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bruce L. Richmond 19451015 Oct 15th 1945
VWL4774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 1943---- Oct 15 [after 1943]
VWL5196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440802 Aug 2d [1944]
VWL5197 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19460723 July 23 [1946]
VWL5246 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19430706 July 6 1943
VWL5295 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19481031 Oct 31, 1948

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