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
VWL3139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491002 Oct 2nd [?1949]
VWL3140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19491020 Oct 20 [1949]
VWL3141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Felix Borowski 19530311 11th March, 1953
VWL3142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Tottenham 1920---- [between 1905-1929]
VWL3146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Tillett 19490919 Sept 19, 1949
VWL3147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.M. Tillett 19490914 14th September, 1949
VWL3149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy & Gerald Finzi 19490911 [11th September 1949]
VWL3150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19490909 [9th September 1949]
VWL3153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19490814 [14] Aug [1949]
VWL3154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19220412 12/4/22
VWL3155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 1922---- [1922, after April]
VWL3156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19230102 [2 Jan 1923]
VWL3157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19230312 March 12 1923
VWL3158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19230418 18 April 1923
VWL3159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 192306-- [June 1923]
VWL3163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Havergal Brian 19490810 10th August 1949
VWL3167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19490805 Friday [5th August 1949]
VWL3173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490702 Saturday [2 July, 1949]
VWL3179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19490611 June 11 [1949]
VWL3188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550903 [September 3rd 1955]
VWL3201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL3202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Richardson 19551003 Oct 3rd [1955]
VWL3204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19551013 Oct 13 [1955]
VWL3206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19551015 [15th Oct 1955]
VWL3207 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19551015 Oct 15 [1955]
VWL3208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19551022 [22 Oct 1955]
VWL3209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19551022 22nd October 1955
VWL3210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Royal Musical Association 19551022 [22 October 1955]
VWL3212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551028 October 28th 1955.
VWL3218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19551110 November 10th 1955

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