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
VWL2545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19480129 29th January, 1948.
VWL2559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521226 December 26th 1952.
VWL2609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19530110 Jan 10 [1953]
VWL2618 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530122 Thurs 22/1/53
VWL2648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530213 [13th February 1953]
VWL2692 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530613 June 13th 1953.
VWL2778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480716 July 16 [1948]
VWL2779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480723 23rd July, 1948.
VWL2832 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540626 June 26th 1954.
VWL2865 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19540902 September 2nd 1954.
VWL2894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 1942---- Oct 16 [?1942-1944]
VWL3049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Mary Grierson 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL3059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551028 October 28th 1955.
VWL3220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551110 November 10th 1955.
VWL3229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551123 Nov 23 [1955]
VWL3233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551218 December 18th 1955.
VWL3262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560130 Jan 30 [1956]
VWL3267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580824 August 24th 1958
VWL3307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560629 [29 June 1956]
VWL3382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL3394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580130 January 30th 1958.
VWL3399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560513 May 13th 1956.
VWL3402 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19580122 January 22nd 1958.
VWL3404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19571108 Nov 8 1957
VWL3801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500412 12th April, 1950.
VWL3883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193108-- [August 1931]
VWL3884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19480601 June 1st [1948]

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