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
VWL1751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19430216 [16 February, 1942]
VWL2002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500614 14th June, 1950
VWL2059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote 195007-- [About July 1950]
VWL2250 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510530 May 30th, 1951.
VWL2256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510621 June 21 1951
VWL2315 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470814 14th August, 1947
VWL2349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520109 9th January, 1952.
VWL2357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19520116 16th January, 1952.
VWL2368 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520220 20th February, 1952
VWL2372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520227 27th February, 1952
VWL2382 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520317 March 17th., 1952
VWL2392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520409 9th April, 1952.
VWL2424 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520603 June 3rd 1952.
VWL2533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19521031 Oct 31 [1952]
VWL2551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521127 27th November, 1952.
VWL2568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530105 Jan 5 [1953]
VWL2616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL2637 Letter from Neville Cardus to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 February 2nd 1953
VWL2640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530204 4th February, 1953.
VWL2674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19530330 March 30 [1953]
VWL2712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530822 August 22nd 1953.
VWL2713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19530825 Aug 25 [1953]
VWL2750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540103 January 3rd 1954.
VWL2757 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540122 January 22nd 1954.
VWL2761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540126 January 26th 1954
VWL2798 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2819 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540509 May 9th 1954.
VWL2825 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540601 June 1st 1954.
VWL2840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Fiske 19540702 July 2nd 1954.
VWL2842 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540708 July 8th 1954.

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