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
VWL3608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320814 August 14 [1932]
VWL3609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320925 September 25 1932
VWL3631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL3633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19400312 March 12 [early 1940s]
VWL3654 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19361207 7.12.36.
VWL3755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19490902 2nd. September, 1949.
VWL3803 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19320628 28.6.32
VWL3843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL3983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19320927 27 Sep 1932
VWL4083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19240103 [?3 January, 1924]
VWL4107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490217 17th February, 1949.
VWL4110 Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19281005 5th October, 1928
VWL4145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500322 22nd. March, 1950.
VWL4146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL4149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 1951---- [1951]
VWL4151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510728 July 28 [1951]
VWL4156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511114 14th November, 1951.
VWL4158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19511212 12th December, 1951.
VWL4160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520202 2nd. February, 1952.
VWL4220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540702 July 2nd 1954.
VWL4273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570529 May 29 1957
VWL4274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501201 Dec 1 [1950]
VWL4275 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510115 Jan 15 [1951]
VWL4278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500909 Sept 9th 1950
VWL4279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530205 Feb 5 1953
VWL4282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540502 May 2nd 1954
VWL4312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19341225 Xmas day [1934]
VWL4326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL4336 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19570118 January 18th 1957
VWL4442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500208 8th February, 1950.

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