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
VWL1286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the BBC 19380410 Sunday [10 April 1938]
VWL1288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Carter 19480410 10th April 1948
VWL1300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19380506 [6 May 1938]
VWL1330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19380626 June 26 [1938]
VWL1332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380703 July 3 (1938)
VWL1367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380722 July 22 [1938]
VWL1375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380919 [19th September 1938]
VWL1381 Letter from Sir Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19381007 October 7th 1938
VWL1386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19381009 October 9 [?1938]
VWL1408 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Townsend 19381115 Nov 12 [1938]
VWL1443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Townsend 19381118 [About 18th November 1938]
VWL1446 Letter from Donald Francis Tovey to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19381129 29th November, 1938.
VWL1450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19411218 Dec 18 [1941]
VWL1455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19390106 Jan 6 [?1939]
VWL1509 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390109 Monday [9th January 1939]
VWL1516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19471016 Oct 16 [1947]
VWL1519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19390302 Thursday [2 March 1939]
VWL1557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390325 March 25 [1939]
VWL1596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Myra Hess 19391005 Oct 5 [1939]
VWL1627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19420111 Jan 11 1942
VWL1630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19420126 Jan 26 [1942]
VWL1667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1945---- [Sometime between 1938 and 1946]
VWL1676 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19420715 July 15 [1942]
VWL1702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19421013 Oct 13 [1942]
VWL1759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430403 April 3rd [1943?]
VWL1767 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1948---- [later part of 1948]
VWL1777 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 194701-- [January 1947]
VWL1793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430726 July 26 [1943]
VWL1820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19431127 Nov 27 [1943]
VWL1871 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450201 Feb 1 [1945]

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