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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
VWL512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1937---- [1937?]
VWL1216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19370921 September 21 [1937]
VWL1307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19380611 June 11 [1938]
VWL2391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19520409 9th April, 1952
VWL2407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19520502 May 2nd [1952]
VWL2713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19530825 Aug 25 [1953]
VWL3076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19550418 April 18th 1955.
VWL3092 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19550603 June 3rd 1955.
VWL3164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19490810 10th August, 1949.
VWL4462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1938---- Jan 3d [late 1930s]
VWL4463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19371206 Dec 6 [about 1937]
VWL4464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19371101 [Nov 1 1937]
VWL4465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1934---- [1934]
VWL4466 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1939---- Tuesday [1939?]
VWL4467 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19380312 March 12 [1938?]
VWL4468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1935---- [late 1930s?]
VWL4469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19520604 4th June, 1952.
VWL4470 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19350718 July 18 [late 1930s]
VWL4471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19341017 [17 Oct 1934]
VWL4472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19540630 June 30th 1954
VWL4473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL4474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19370212 February 12 [1937]
VWL4475 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19380513 May 13 [1938]
VWL4476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19400927 Sept 27 [about 1940?]
VWL4477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19540612 June 12th 1954

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