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
VWL3257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19560119 January 19th 1956.
VWL3514 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19570514 May 14th 1957
VWL2993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19550130 January 30th 1955
VWL3566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19571115 November 15th 1957
VWL3085 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19550429 April 29th 1955
VWL3309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580408 [About 8th April 1958]
VWL2821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19540511 May 11 1954
VWL2246 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Lawrence 19510521 May 21 [1951]
VWL1996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19500524 24th May 1950.
VWL2450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19520716 July 16 [1952]
VWL1903 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19440319 [19 March 1944]
VWL1904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19440303 March 3 [1944]
VWL1397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Gayford 19400222 Feb 22nd [1940]
VWL1914 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19440510 10th May [1944]
VWL5092 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 194-0404 April 4 [1940s?]
VWL1384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Janet Fraser 19400205 Feb 5 [1940]
VWL669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19290402 [2nd April 1929]
VWL1194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19340304 March 4 [1934]
VWL1382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19400202 Feb 2 [1940]
VWL4773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19351226 Dec 26 [1935?]
VWL4775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1949---- Sunday [1949?]
VWL1555 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19390319 Sunday [19th March 1939]
VWL1276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380126 [Jan. 26, 1938]
VWL2383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520317 March 17 [1952]
VWL2564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19521231 31st December 1952
VWL2189 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19510207 7th February, 1951.
VWL2190 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19510214 14th February, 1951.
VWL2093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19460901 Sept 1 [1946]
VWL1608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL2653 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530215 February 15th 1953.

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