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
VWL3015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370321 March 21 [1937]
VWL3031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs Crow 19530420 20th April, 1953.
VWL3035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs. Hampton & Sons 195306-- [June 1953?]
VWL3057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491130 Nov 30 [?1949]
VWL3088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19550511 May 11 [1955]
VWL3094 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Albert Sturgess 19550609 June 9th 1955.
VWL3101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19550701 July 1st 1955.
VWL3162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490810 10th August, 1949.
VWL3168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490803 3rd. August, 1949.
VWL3260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560129 January 29th 1956.
VWL3292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560217 February 17th 1956.
VWL3344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560627 June 27th 1956.
VWL3381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560413 April 13 1956
VWL3384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer, Leith Hill Musical Festival 19560413 April 13th 1956
VWL3402 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19580122 January 22nd 1958.
VWL3408 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560522 May 22nd [1956]
VWL3411 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560531 May 31st 1956.
VWL3445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Committee of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust 19561029 October 29th 1956
VWL3483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL3530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19570423 [23 April, 1957]
VWL3566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19571115 November 15th 1957
VWL3615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Laurence Binyon 19380709 July 9 [1938]
VWL3623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193612-- Dec. 1936
VWL3631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL3632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19460512 May 12 [after 1945]
VWL3633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19400312 March 12 [early 1940s]
VWL3686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500821 Aug 21 [1950]
VWL3728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer of the Gloucester Musical Festival 19371002 October 2, [1937]
VWL3736 Letter from Alan Bush to Arnold Goldsbrough 19370131 January 31st, 1936. [i.e. 1937]
VWL3737 Letter from Peter and Ilse to Alan Bush 19370117 Sunday, 17/1/37.

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