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.

Searching:
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
VWL1491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [July 1940]
VWL1493 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [July 1940]
VWL1494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- [August 1940]
VWL1495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- Wednesday [August 1940]
VWL1496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- [1940]
VWL1497 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194009-- [1940]
VWL1498 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Townsend 194009-- [September 1940 ]
VWL1499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194010-- Sunday morning 7.30 [After October 1940]
VWL1507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 1940---- [1940]
VWL1520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410118 Jan 18 [1941]
VWL1526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to BBC Director General 19410309 March 9 [1941]
VWL1527 BBC Public Statement 19410314 14th March, 1941
VWL1531 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410408 [8 April 1941]
VWL1541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19410615 June 15 [1941?]
VWL1542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19410624 June 24 [?1941]
VWL1543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Farjeon 19410627 June 27 [c.1941]
VWL1575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19410814 Aug l4th [1941]
VWL1579 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19410905 Sep 5 [1941]
VWL1596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Myra Hess 19391005 Oct 5 [1939]
VWL1598 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391007 [7th October 1939]
VWL1602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19391010 [10 October 1939]
VWL1607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL1608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL1609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director-General (BBC) 19391018 Oct. 18 [1939]
VWL1614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19411226 [26 December 1941]
VWL1615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19411228 Dec 28 1941
VWL1617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell (BBC) 19391019 Oct 19 [1939]
VWL1618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19391024 Oct 24 [1939]
VWL1621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elisabeth Lutyens 19391106 Nov 6 [1939]
VWL1624 Letter from R.O.Morris to Alice Sumsion 19420103 Jan 3 1942

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