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
VWL3428 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19560929 September 29th 1956
VWL3548 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570910 [10th September 1957]
VWL3632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19460512 May 12 [after 1945]
VWL3649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19350409 April 9 [ca 1935]
VWL3709 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571231 December 31st, 1957.
VWL3863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935---- [mid 1930s?]
VWL3873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19321228 December 1932
VWL3948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19480129 29th January, 1948.
VWL4167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550306 March 6th 1955.
VWL4168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL4169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL4170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570215 February 15th 1957.
VWL4559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 1946---- [early 1946]
VWL4685 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19500914 Thursday [September 14 1950]
VWL4701 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19271001 [late September/early October 1927]
VWL4702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311213 December 13 [1931]
VWL4703 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311213 Dec 13 [1931]
VWL4705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193203-- [shortly after 16 March, 1932]
VWL4708 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4709 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4710 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL4882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Neville Coghill and Hal Burton 19510214 14th February, 1951.
VWL4909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George M. Trevelyan 19560215 February 15th 1956
VWL4923 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 195102-- Thursday [February 1951]
VWL5040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Musical Times 195501-- [January 1955]
VWL5080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19301204 Dec. 4, 1930
VWL5175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an Italian correspondent 19321213 December 13 [1932]
VWL5177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society 19530128 Jan 28 1953
VWL5228 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Saturday [1903]

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