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
VWL125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110311 [About 11th March 1911]
VWL348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191409-- [September 1914]
VWL419 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19350414 Sunday [14th April 1935]
VWL553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 193610-- [About October 1936?]
VWL683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193909-- Sept [1939]
VWL1173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL1224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390915 [15th September 1939]
VWL1226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19391231 Dec 31 [1939]
VWL1445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19381122 November 22 [1938]
VWL1455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19390106 Jan 6 [?1939]
VWL1536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19410516 [16th May 1941]
VWL1755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19430315 March 15 [1943]
VWL1772 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 1945012- [late January 1945]
VWL1773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 194503-- [March 1945]
VWL1857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19450102 Jan 2nd 1945
VWL1869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19450104 Jan 4th [1945]
VWL1874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.J. Dent 19450216 Feb 16 [1945]
VWL1878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19450314 14 March, 1945
VWL1983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500308 8th March, 1950.
VWL2032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460409 April 9 [1946]
VWL2056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460803 Aug 3. [1946]
VWL2062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195012-- [?December, 1950]
VWL2063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195012-- [?December, 1950]
VWL2098 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19460918 Sept 18/46
VWL2186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470610 June 10 1947
VWL2191 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510218 [?18 Feb, 1951]
VWL2196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510221 21st February, 1951
VWL2208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510321 [21 March 1951]
VWL2209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510322 March 22 [1951]
VWL2210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510323 [23 March 1951]

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