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.

Searching:
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
VWL1313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Crozier 19500726 26th July, 1950.
VWL2205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19510313 [13th March 1951]
VWL2216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Steuart Wilson 19510427 April 27 [1951] (7.15 A M)
VWL2254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510613 13th June, 1951.
VWL2256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510621 June 21 1951
VWL2257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510622 June 22 [1951]
VWL2261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510701 Sunday [?1 July 1951]
VWL2366 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520207 [7 February 1952] Thursday
VWL3070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19550320 March 20th 1955.
VWL3228 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19551123 Nov 23rd [1955]
VWL3632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19460512 May 12 [after 1945]
VWL3686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500821 Aug 21 [1950]
VWL3770 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480523 May 23 1948
VWL3948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19480129 29th January, 1948.
VWL3951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530712 July 12th 1953.
VWL4144 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19491207 7th December, 1949.
VWL4150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510413 April 13 [1951?]
VWL4157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511118 November 18th 1951.
VWL4278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500909 Sept 9th 1950
VWL4379 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501226 Dec 26 [1950]
VWL4541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19510429 29 April, 1951
VWL4685 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19500914 Thursday [September 14 1950]
VWL4923 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 195102-- Thursday [February 1951]
VWL4964 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Covent Garden Opera Company 19510427 [late April 1951]

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