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
VWL4325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 193503-- [c. March 1935]
VWL3213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eugene Goossens 19551030 October 30th 1955.
VWL1444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19381120 Nov 20th [1938]
VWL1407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19381113 Nov 13 [1938]
VWL1602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19391010 [10 October 1939]
VWL1770 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 1949---- Friday [late 1940s?]
VWL2080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19500901 1st September 1950
VWL1866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL2173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19510115 Jan 15 [1951?]
VWL1952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19441225 Xmas day [1944]
VWL740 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Clark (BBC) 1926---- [1926]
VWL1134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Clark 19341011 Oct 11 [?1934]
VWL2026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19460115 Jan 15 [1946]
VWL2938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19481229 29th December, 1948.
VWL2249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19510523 23rd May, 1951.
VWL1609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director-General (BBC) 19391018 Oct. 18 [1939]
VWL1185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340217 Sat 17th [February 1934]
VWL813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19351128 28 November 1935
VWL1526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to BBC Director General 19410309 March 9 [1941]
VWL1327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Aylmer Buesst (BBC) 19341114 Nov 14 [1934]
VWL4995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19360208 Feb 8 [1936]
VWL2434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19471210 10th December, 1947.
VWL1150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 193209-- [September 1932?]
VWL2418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 193----- [early 1930s]
VWL1541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19410615 June 15 [1941?]
VWL2211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alec Robertson (BBC) 19510329 29th March, 1951.
VWL2527 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521029 29th October, 1952.
VWL2611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530115 Jan. 15th 1953
VWL2847 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540728 July 28th 1954.
VWL2576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480304 4th. March, 1948.

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