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
VWL3764 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551005 November 5th, 1955.
VWL3770 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480523 May 23 1948
VWL3779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Humphrey Milford 19420311 March 11 [1942]
VWL3820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1932---- [1930s]
VWL3842 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1932---- Fri [1932?]
VWL3968 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanley Bate 19471007 7 Oct 1927
VWL4020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400404 April 4 [1940]
VWL4023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19440313 [13 March 1944]
VWL4205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19520520 20 May [1952]
VWL4235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19461113 Nov 13 [1946]
VWL4325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 193503-- [c. March 1935]
VWL4340 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530531 May 31st [1953]
VWL4498 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19420719 July 19 [1942?]
VWL4625 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19340622 Friday [22 June 1934]
VWL4687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19521119 19th November 1952.
VWL4727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to K.J. Burrell 19580328 March 28th 1958.
VWL4742 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL4839 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19471008 8th October, 1947.
VWL4850 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 1933---- [1933]
VWL4995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19360208 Feb 8 [1936]
VWL5000 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19391015 Oct 15 [1939]
VWL5069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Geoffrey Bush to the Editor of The Times 19570405 Friday 5 April, 1957
VWL5073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19571001 [Friday 4 October, 1957]
VWL5077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19570425 April 25, [1957]
VWL5079 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19580215 February 15, [1958]
VWL5082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 1947---- [1947?]
VWL5097 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19400324 Easter Sunday [March 24 1940]
VWL5133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19410315 15 March, 1941
VWL5163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Catelinet 19550118 [18 January 1955]

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