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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3488 Transcript of VW’s contribution to Elgar Centenary Programme on the BBC 195705-- [May 1957]
VWL3505 ‘The Fifteenth Variation’: Transcript of VW’s contribution to Elgar Centenary Programme on the BBC from the recording 195705-- [May 1957]
VWL3509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570515 [15 May 1957]
VWL3560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19480219 19th February, 1948.
VWL3621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL3687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500920 20th September, 1950.
VWL3806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Quilter 19371219 Dec 19th [1937]
VWL3840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935---- Jan 19 [mid-1930s?]
VWL3841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935---- [mid 1930s?]
VWL3849 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19510926 26th September, 1951.
VWL3853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19371o-- [autumn 1937?]
VWL3855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1930s?]
VWL3862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19380520 [about 20 May 1938]
VWL3874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193----- [1930s?]
VWL3875 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19500405 5th April, 1950.
VWL3876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19370226 [Late February 1937]
VWL3880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193----- [1930s?]
VWL3883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193108-- [August 1931]
VWL4019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400320 March 20 [1940]
VWL4020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400404 April 4 [1940]
VWL4147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510517 17th May, 1951.
VWL4278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500909 Sept 9th 1950
VWL4356 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Watts 19480310 March 10 [1948]
VWL4358 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480210 Feb 10 [1948]
VWL4523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19450209 Feb 9 [1945?]
VWL4525 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1946-- [November, 1946]
VWL4625 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19340622 Friday [22 June 1934]
VWL4668 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19451106 Tueday [Nov 6 1945]
VWL4679 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460801 Thursday morning [1 August 1946]

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