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
VWL2490 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521014 [14th October 1952]
VWL2497 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471216 16th December, 1947.
VWL2501 Letter from Robert Müller-Hartmann to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471216 16th December 1947
VWL2519 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521020 October 20th. [1952]
VWL2532 Letter from from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480109 9th January, 1948.
VWL2542 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480120 [20th January 1948]
VWL2544 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480122 22nd January, 1948.
VWL2546 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480210 10th February, 1948
VWL2569 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530108 8th January 1953
VWL2581 Letter from Robert Müller-Hartmann to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480321 21st March 1948
VWL2587 Letter from Gwen Beckett (BBC) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480413 13th April 1948.
VWL2592 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480416 16th April, 1948
VWL2598 Letter from Patrick Hadley to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480508 8 May 1948
VWL2608 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530109 9th January 1953
VWL2612 Letter from Michael Kennedy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530118 Sunday, Jan 18th, 1953.
VWL2613 Letter from Gilmour Jenkins to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530119 19th Jan. 1953
VWL2618 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530122 Thurs 22/1/53
VWL2619 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530122 Jan 22nd [1953]
VWL2635 Letter from Ralph Wedgwood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 Monday - 2.2.53
VWL2636 Letter from George Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 Feb 2. 1953
VWL2637 Letter from Neville Cardus to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 February 2nd 1953
VWL2638 Letter from Sidney P. Waddington to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530203 3/2/53
VWL2736 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19531019 19th October 1953
VWL2771 Letter from from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480621 21st June, 1948
VWL2775 Letter from Alan Frank (OUP) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480712 12th July l948
VWL2783 Letter from Serge Koussevitzky to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480810 August 10, 1948
VWL2806 Letter from Genia Hornstein to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19481011 11.X.48
VWL2843 Letter from John Warrack to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19540713 13th July 1954
VWL2848 Letter from Ursula Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19481026 Tuesday [26 October 1948]
VWL2863 Letter from John Ireland to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19540822 August 22nd 1954

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