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
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.
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.
VWL2242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19510520 20 May 1951
VWL2381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19520316 March 16th 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]
VWL2688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19530528 28th May 1953
VWL2706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19530725 28th July 1953
VWL2729 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19531005 October 5th 1953.
VWL2734 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult and Ann Boult 19531014 Oct 14 [1953]
VWL2790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19480828 Aug 28 [1948]
VWL2853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19481124 [24 Nov 1948]
VWL2857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL2887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19541116 November 16th 1954.
VWL2896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Susanne Müller-Hartmann 19430901 Sept 1st [1943]
VWL2908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hans Vigeland 19560301 March 1st 1956
VWL3006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Hurley 19571226 December 26, 1957
VWL3045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19510513 13 May 1951
VWL3046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19500816 16 August 1950
VWL3047 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 194----- Feb 15 [1940s?]
VWL3056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19491130 30th November, 1949.
VWL3064 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19550227 February 27th 1955.
VWL3140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19491020 Oct 20 [1949]
VWL3197 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Vera Mackenzie and Molly Hodge 19580904 Sept. 4, 1958
VWL3218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19551110 November 10th 1955

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