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
VWL4222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400223 Feb 23rd [1940]
VWL4223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400821 August 21 [1940]
VWL4224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400828 August 28 [1940]
VWL4227 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400504 May 4th [1940]
VWL4228 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19401010 Oct 10 [1940]
VWL4229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19470509 [9 May 1947]
VWL4256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19370119 Jan 19th [1937?]
VWL4257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19360619 June 19 [1936]
VWL4258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19360802 August 2 [1936]
VWL4261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19361129 Nov 29 [1936?]
VWL4262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19361026 October 26 [1936]
VWL4263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19370111 January 11 [1937?]
VWL4294 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Pearl 19401112 12 November [1940]
VWL4313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Thomas Beecham 19370210 Feb 10 [1937]
VWL4357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Shaw 19460715 July 15 [1946]
VWL4391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Claud Powell 19160502 2 May 16
VWL4392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evangeline Farrer 19460308 March 8th [about 1946?]
VWL4427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19501002 2nd October 1950.
VWL4442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500208 8th February, 1950.
VWL4475 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19380513 May 13 [1938]
VWL4484 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19550812 August 12th 1955.
VWL4573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Schneeweiss 1942---- Sept 28 [1942]
VWL4574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Schneeweiss 1942---- Oct 18 [1942?]
VWL4577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Edwards Park 19330311 March 11th 1935
VWL4665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350504 May 4 [1935]
VWL4666 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350310 March 10 [1935]
VWL4667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350714 July 14 [1935]
VWL4687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19521119 19th November 1952.
VWL4700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 1930---- [1930s?]
VWL4706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Victoria University of Wellington 19571118 November 18th 1957.

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