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.

Searching:
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
VWL1486 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194004-- [April 1940]
VWL3569 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570930 [30th September 1957]
VWL1181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage at the BBC 19340113 Jan 13 1934
VWL1341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19341202 Dec 2 [1934]
VWL1344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19341204 Dec 4 [1934]
VWL1337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19341118 November 18 [1934]
VWL371 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 19110608 June 8th [1911]
VWL1504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194103-- [March 1941]
VWL4742 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19350101 [early 1935]
VWL2183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19460724 July 24 [1946?]
VWL2096 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19410917 Sept 17 [1941]
VWL373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19110708 [8th July 1911]
VWL1327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Aylmer Buesst (BBC) 19341114 Nov 14 [1934]
VWL3730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520727 July 27th 1952.
VWL2167 Letter from Iris Lemare to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470419 April 13th [?1947]
VWL2255 Letter from Hubert Foss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510620 20th June, 1951
VWL395 Letter from George Butterworth to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140328 March 28 1914

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