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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19510513 13 May 1951
VWL3046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19500816 16 August 1950
VWL3047 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 194----- Feb 15 [1940s?]
VWL3048 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Mary Grierson 19520228 Feb 28 [1952]
VWL3049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Mary Grierson 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL3050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Mary Grierson 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL3051 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor Arthur Hutchings 19481029 October 29 [1948]
VWL3052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19491228 28th December, 1949.
VWL3053 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19491228 28th December, 1949.
VWL3054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.M. Martin 19491228 28th December, 1949
VWL3055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lisette and Robert Longman 19491204 Monday [?4th December 1949]
VWL3056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19491130 30th November, 1949.
VWL3057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491130 Nov 30 [?1949]
VWL3058 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Tressider Sheppard, Provost of King’s College Cambridge 19491125 November 25 [1949]
VWL3059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491123 November 23 [1949]
VWL3063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 1935---- [1935?]
VWL3064 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19550227 February 27th 1955.
VWL3065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550227 February 27th 1955.
VWL3066 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550305 March 3rd [1955]
VWL3067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Falkner 19550307 March 7th 1955.
VWL3068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19550320 March 20th 1955.
VWL3069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19550320 March 20th 1955.
VWL3070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19550320 March 20th 1955.
VWL3071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19550327 March 27th 1955
VWL3072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550327 March 27th 1955.
VWL3073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550327 March 27th 1955.
VWL3074 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550402 April 2nd 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