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
VWL3474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570329 March 29th 1957
VWL3104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550724 July 24th 1955.
VWL3225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19551117 November 17th 1955.
VWL3270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580810 August 10th 1958.
VWL3293 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560219 February 19th 1956.
VWL3323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580315 March 15th 1958.
VWL4147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510517 17th May, 1951.
VWL4154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510919 19th September, 1951.
VWL4164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521008 8th October, 1952.
VWL4165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530802 August 2nd 1953.
VWL4166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540314 March 14th 1954
VWL4171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510221 21st. February, 1951.
VWL4280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521110 Nov 10 [1952]
VWL4442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500208 8th February, 1950.
VWL4452 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19491026 26th October, 1949.
VWL553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 193610-- [About October 1936?]
VWL1158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370301 Monday [1st March 1937?]
VWL1175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370427 April 27 [1937]
VWL1971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500108 January 8 [1950]
VWL2081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500901 1st. September, 1950.
VWL2172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510110 10th January, 1951.
VWL2268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510824 Aug 24 [1951]
VWL3060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490727 27th July, 1949.
VWL3185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL3260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560129 January 29th 1956.
VWL3359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560412 April 12th 1956
VWL3367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560827 August 27th 1956.
VWL3400 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL3442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561025 October 25th 1956.

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