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
VWL655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193902-- [Early February 1939]
VWL1385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400214 Feb 14 [1940]
VWL1428 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19400806 Aug 6th 1940
VWL1450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19411218 Dec 18 [1941]
VWL1453 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19390101 Jan 1st 1939
VWL1458 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19401004 October 4 [1940]
VWL1513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19390126 January 26 [1939]
VWL1577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19410815 Aug 15 [1941]
VWL1624 Letter from R.O.Morris to Alice Sumsion 19420103 Jan 3 1942
VWL1642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19391128 Nov 28 [1939]
VWL1643 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19391128 Nov 28 [1939]
VWL1671 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19410627 June 27 [1941]
VWL1692 Letter from Ferdinand Rauter to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19420926 26. September 1942
VWL1697 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19421009 Oct 9 [1942]
VWL2166 Internal BBC memorandum to the Home News Editor from Sir Adrian Boult 19470418 April 18th 1947
VWL3723 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370130 30.1.37.
VWL3724 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19370129 January 29, [1937]
VWL3725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stephanie Pinthus 19370126 January 26th, 1937.
VWL3733 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370123 23.1.37.
VWL3734 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19381228 December 28th, 1938.
VWL3736 Letter from Alan Bush to Arnold Goldsbrough 19370131 January 31st, 1936. [i.e. 1937]
VWL3737 Letter from Peter and Ilse to Alan Bush 19370117 Sunday, 17/1/37.
VWL3915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19390203 Feb [3rd 1939]
VWL3921 Letter from Peter and Ilse [Meyer] to Alan Bush 19370115 15/1/37.
VWL3922 Letter from Ilse to Alan Bush 19370131 31/1/37.
VWL3940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 19391120 Nov 20 [1939]
VWL3993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19390514 May 14 1939
VWL4043 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Kreibich 19421012 Oct 12 [1944?]
VWL4046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Emily Kreibich 19470827 27th August, 1947.
VWL4222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400223 Feb 23rd [1940]

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