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
VWL2727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530930 September 30th 1953.
VWL3104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550724 July 24th 1955.
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.
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.
VWL3513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570512 May 12th 1957.
VWL2640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530204 4th February, 1953.
VWL4106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480708 8th July, 1948.
VWL4153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 195108-- [August 1951?]
VWL4160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520202 2nd. February, 1952.
VWL4169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL4170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570215 February 15th 1957.
VWL1983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500308 8th March, 1950.
VWL3072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550327 March 27th 1955.
VWL2781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480805 5th August, 1948.
VWL4107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490217 17th February, 1949.
VWL4159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511212 12th December, 1951.
VWL4161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520702 2nd. July, 1952.
VWL5199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19430907 Sept 7 [1943]
VWL2637 Letter from Neville Cardus to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 February 2nd 1953
VWL2255 Letter from Hubert Foss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510620 20th June, 1951
VWL2013 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19451105 [5 November 1945]
VWL2217 Letter from Edward J. Dent to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510427 27 April 1951
VWL2226 Letter from Edward J. Dent to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510506 6 May 1951
VWL2223 Letter from Edward J. Dent to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510502 2 May 1951
VWL4379 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501226 Dec 26 [1950]
VWL2117 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19501103 Friday [3rd November 1950]
VWL2200 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19510301 [March 1st 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