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
VWL1192 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Greaves 19340225 Feb 25 [1934]
VWL1210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320302 [2 March 1932]
VWL1248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19371025 [24 Oct 1937]
VWL1262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19340610 [10 June 1934]
VWL1271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19340730 [30 Jul 1934]
VWL1322 Letter from Percy Dearmer to Humphrey Milford 19341022 22nd October 1934
VWL1339 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foster Clark (BBC) 19341127 Nov 27 [1934]
VWL1346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19341225 Xmas Day
VWL1359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19400120 Jan 20 [1940]
VWL1364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400120 Jan 20 [1940]
VWL1367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380722 July 22 [1938]
VWL1487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (Oxford University Press) 194004-- [About April 1940]
VWL1507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 1940---- [1940]
VWL1520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410118 Jan 18 [1941]
VWL1530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410407 April 7 [1941]
VWL1539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410613 June 13 [1941]
VWL1550 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Blech 194109-- Thurs [mid-1941]
VWL1578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19410831 Aug 31 [1941]
VWL1583 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19411102 Nov 2d [?1941]
VWL1584 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19411106 Nov 6 [1941]
VWL1585 Letter from Norman Peterkin (OUP) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19411110 [10 November 1941]
VWL1641 Memorandum from Norman Peterkin to Sir Humphrey Milford 19420424 April 24th 1942
VWL1648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194-0620 June 20th [194-?]
VWL1659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420501 May 1 [1942]
VWL1661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420516 May 16 [1942]
VWL1669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19420531 [31 May 1942]
VWL1670 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420603 June 3rd, 1942
VWL1679 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420809 Aug 9th [1942]
VWL1681 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19420825 Aug: 25 [1942]
VWL1686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420905 September 4th 1942.

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