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
VWL4965 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Spencer 19360319 March 19 [1936]
VWL4966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Spencer 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL4967 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19230829 29/8/23
VWL4968 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19590313 March 13th [1959]
VWL4969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19401022 Oct 22 [1940]
VWL4970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Maud Karpeles to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19400803 3 August 1940.
VWL4971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19480429 29th April, 1948.
VWL4972 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19460806 Aug 6 [1946]
VWL4973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19400624 June 24 1940
VWL4974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19381016 Oct 16 [1938]
VWL4975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19350405 [5 April 1935]
VWL4976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19380516 May 16 [1938]
VWL4977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W. Paston 19380522 Sunday [22 or 29 May 1938]
VWL4978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19380703 July 3rd. [1938]
VWL4979 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Muriel James 19541102 November 2nd 1954
VWL4980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Muriel James 19541216 December 16th 1954
VWL4981 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19400802 August 2 [1940]
VWL4982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401119 [19 or 20 November, 1940]
VWL4983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401004 Oct 4 [1940]
VWL4984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19401031 October 31 [1940]
VWL4985 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401109 Nov 9 1940
VWL4986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401114 Nov 14 [1940]
VWL4987 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19411020 Oct 20 [1941]
VWL4988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19370801 between 29 July and 10 August 1937
VWL4989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19370709 July 9th [1937]
VWL4990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19411014 Oct 14 1941
VWL4991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19280223 Feb 23 [1928]
VWL4992 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19300830 Aug 30 [ca 1930]
VWL4993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19330813 August 13 [1933]
VWL4994 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19260629 June 29 [1926]

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