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
VWL1761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430506 May 6 [1943]
VWL1905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19440312 March 12 [1944]
VWL1599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19411210 Dec 10 [1941]
VWL2312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL2194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470619 19th June, 1947.
VWL1763 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL1806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19431002 Oct 2nd [1943]
VWL4473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL1789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19430623 June 23 1943
VWL3621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL3299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19580522 May 22nd 1958
VWL4707 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bruce L. Richmond 19451015 Oct 15th 1945
VWL1762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19430510 May 10 [1943]
VWL1921 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19440706 July 6 [?1944]
VWL2211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alec Robertson (BBC) 19510329 29th March, 1951.
VWL1929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Smith 19440819 August 19 [1944]
VWL2028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460314 [About 14th March 1946]
VWL2056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460803 Aug 3. [1946]
VWL4156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511114 14th November, 1951.
VWL2765 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480603 3rd June, 1948.
VWL3375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580215 February 15th 1958.
VWL3769 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551108 November 8th 1955.
VWL1750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19430215 Feb 15 [1943]
VWL1760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19430501 May 1st 1943
VWL1907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19440326 March 26 [1944]
VWL1877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19450305 March 5 [1945]
VWL1872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450207 Feb 7 [1945]
VWL5197 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19460723 July 23 [1946]
VWL1902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440309 March 9 [1944]
VWL5196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440802 Aug 2d [1944]

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