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
VWL5197 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19460723 July 23 [1946]
VWL5198 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19550528 May 28th 1955
VWL5199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19430907 Sept 7 [1943]
VWL5200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19491007 Friday [7 October 1949]
VWL5201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Mead 19511024 24th October, 1951.
VWL5202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to whom it may concern 19320309 March 9th 1932
VWL5203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Griffiths 19420214 Feb 14 [1942]
VWL5206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430608 June 8 1943
VWL5207 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430622 June 22 [1943]
VWL5208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Snowman 195-0905 September 5 [1950?]
VWL5230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19510124 Jan 24 1951
VWL5231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Philip Hendy 19540324 [March 24 1954]
VWL5232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19540324 March 24th 1954
VWL5268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gillian Addis 194-0419 April 19 [1940s]
VWL5269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gillian Addis 194-0519 May 19 [1940s]
VWL5271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vinicio Barocas 19440103 Jan 3/44
VWL5272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Ramsay 19360208 February 8 [1936?]
VWL5273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William James Shergold 19391109 Nov 9th [1939]
VWL5276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Carter 19480801 Aug 1st 1948
VWL5277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Carter 19480805 5th August, 1948.
VWL5282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Carter 19481017 [17 October 1948]

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