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
VWL3609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320925 September 25 1932
VWL3612 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310607 June 7, [ca 1931]
VWL3615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Laurence Binyon 19380709 July 9 [1938]
VWL3623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193612-- Dec. 1936
VWL3628 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310621 June 21, [1931]
VWL3629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310614 June 14, [1931]
VWL3724 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19370129 January 29, [1937]
VWL3728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer of the Gloucester Musical Festival 19371002 October 2, [1937]
VWL3731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490605 June 5 [1949]
VWL3732 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490225 Feb 25 [1949]
VWL3745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500423 April 23 [1950]
VWL3770 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480523 May 23 1948
VWL3771 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19490421 April 21 1949
VWL3772 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500726 July 26 1950
VWL3779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Humphrey Milford 19420311 March 11 [1942]
VWL3781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 19250409 April 9th [1925]
VWL3782 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 19360517 May 17 [about 1936]
VWL3792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500516 May 16 [1950]
VWL3794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500620 June 20 [1950]
VWL3800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500401 April 1 [1950]
VWL3809 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19350823 August 23 [1935]
VWL3810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370728 July 28 [1937]
VWL3811 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370722 July 22 [1937]
VWL3833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 19390112 January 12 [1939]
VWL3941 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 194----- Jan 26 [1940?]
VWL3963 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Thistleton 19370405 April 5 [1937]
VWL3969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peggy Glanville-Hicks 1950---- August 29 [1950?]
VWL3977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19290918 18 Sep 1929
VWL3980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19321006 October 6 [1932]
VWL3986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to F.W. Evans 19050306 6 March 1905

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