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
VWL3604 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Needham 19310101 Jan 1st 1931
VWL3605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Needham 19310112 January 12 [1931]
VWL3607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320320 March 20 [1932]
VWL3609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320925 September 25 1932
VWL3618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19481216 16th December 1948
VWL3697 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19581103 November 3rd, 1958.
VWL3698 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19590115 January 15th 1959
VWL3699 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Ralph Vaughan Williams 19590120 January 20th, 1959
VWL3702 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19600130 January 30th, 1960.
VWL3703 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19581030 October 30th 1958
VWL3705 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19581027 October 27th, 1958.
VWL3779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Humphrey Milford 19420311 March 11 [1942]
VWL3832 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1933---- [about 1933?]
VWL3874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193----- [1930s?]
VWL3971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peggy Glanville-Hicks 19510119 Jan 19 [1951]
VWL3993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19390514 May 14 1939
VWL4008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19260521 May 21 [1926]
VWL4110 Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19281005 5th October, 1928
VWL4234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19461026 Oct 26 [1946]
VWL4280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521110 Nov 10 [1952]
VWL4282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540502 May 2nd 1954
VWL4285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Ashmore 19550521 May 21st 1955.
VWL4325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 193503-- [c. March 1935]
VWL4326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL4452 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19491026 26th October, 1949.
VWL4688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19530208 February 8th 1953.
VWL4689 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19530211 11th February, 1953.
VWL4741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19451004 Oct 4 [1945]
VWL4760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19541124 November 24th 1954.
VWL4765 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (Oxford University Press) 19400916 September 16 [ca 1940]

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