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
VWL2595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nikolai Malko 19480429 29th April, 1948
VWL2596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.J. Dent 19480429 29th April, 1948
VWL2597 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19480506 6th May, 1948.
VWL2598 Letter from Patrick Hadley to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480508 8 May 1948
VWL2599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.L. Boston 19480519 19th May, 1948
VWL2600 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19480522 May 22nd, 1948.
VWL2601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 193----- [1930s?]
VWL2602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 195210-- [After 12 October 1952]
VWL2603 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page and Douglas Lilburn 195210-- [October 1952]
VWL2604 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Tindall Robertson 195210-- [October 1952?]
VWL2605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 195210-- [October 1952?]
VWL2606 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 195210-- [October 1952?]
VWL2607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195211-- [? early November 1952]
VWL2608 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530109 9th January 1953
VWL2609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19530110 Jan 10 [1953]
VWL2610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530110 January 10th 1953.
VWL2611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530115 Jan. 15th 1953
VWL2612 Letter from Michael Kennedy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530118 Sunday, Jan 18th, 1953.
VWL2613 Letter from Gilmour Jenkins to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530119 19th Jan. 1953
VWL2614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL2615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL2616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL2617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530122 January 22nd 1953.
VWL2618 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530122 Thurs 22/1/53
VWL2619 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530122 Jan 22nd [1953]
VWL2620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denis Dowling 19530122 January 22nd 1953.
VWL2621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19530124 24 Jan [19]53
VWL2622 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530127 27th January, 1953.
VWL2623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL2624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530128 28th January, 1953.

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