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
VWL2723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19390925 Sept 25 [?1939 ]
VWL2726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530930 Sept 30 [1953]
VWL2729 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19531005 October 5th 1953.
VWL2730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19531011 October 11th 1953.
VWL2732 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19531013 Oct 13 [1953]
VWL2734 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult and Ann Boult 19531014 Oct 14 [1953]
VWL2735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19531015 Oct 15 [1953]
VWL2737 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ferdinand Rauter 19531026 Oct 26 [1953 or later]
VWL2743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL2744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531208 December 8th 1953.
VWL2745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL2749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531226 December 26th 1953.
VWL2755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540120 [January 20] 1954
VWL2758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540122 [January 22 1954]
VWL2760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540125 January 25th. [1954]
VWL2761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540126 January 26th 1954
VWL2763 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540202 [early February 1954]
VWL2773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19480624 24th June, 1948.
VWL2774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19480708 8th July, 1948.
VWL2775 Letter from Alan Frank (OUP) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480712 12th July l948
VWL2778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480716 July 16 [1948]
VWL2781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480805 5th August, 1948.
VWL2786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540210 February 10th 1954.
VWL2789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540221 [21 February 1954]
VWL2790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19480828 Aug 28 [1948]
VWL2791 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to T. Tertius Noble 19480904 4th September, 1948
VWL2792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480915 Sept 15 1948
VWL2794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL2796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19540314 March 14th 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