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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL1857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19450102 Jan 2nd 1945
VWL1866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL1872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450207 Feb 7 [1945]
VWL1892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank M. Flack 19521022 22nd. October, 1952
VWL1912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Churchwarden, Dorking Parish Church 19440504 May 4th 1944
VWL1926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440813 Aug 13 [1944]
VWL1952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19441225 Xmas day [1944]
VWL1974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bruce Flegg 19500119 Jan 19 [1950]
VWL1975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500122 Jan 22 [1950]
VWL1991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500503 3rd. May, 1950.
VWL1994 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500517 17 May, 1950.
VWL2093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19460901 Sept 1 [1946]
VWL2097 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460918 [18th September 1946]
VWL2148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470113 Jan 13 [1947]
VWL2149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470123 Jan 23 [1947]
VWL2180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Gray 19380103 Jan 3rd [1938]
VWL2199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19510228 28th February, 1951.
VWL2225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19510504 4 May 1951
VWL2242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19510520 20 May 1951
VWL2255 Letter from Hubert Foss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510620 20th June, 1951
VWL2313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL2321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19511206 [6th December 1951]
VWL2336 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520102 January 2 [1952]
VWL2381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19520316 March 16th 1952.
VWL2386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19520403 3rd. April, 1952
VWL2440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520625 25th June, 1952
VWL2496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19521014 October 14th 1952.
VWL2509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19471225 Xmas Day [1947?]
VWL2660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Elwes 1927---- [1927]
VWL2683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19530513 13th May, 1953

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