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
VWL2061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 195011-- [November 1950]
VWL1872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450207 Feb 7 [1945]
VWL1945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450808 Aug 8 [1945]
VWL1322 Letter from Percy Dearmer to Humphrey Milford 19341022 22nd October 1934
VWL1585 Letter from Norman Peterkin (OUP) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19411110 [10 November 1941]
VWL4110 Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19281005 5th October, 1928
VWL638 Letter from Lucy Broadwood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19281101 [About 1st November 1928]
VWL3291 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560217 Friday 17/II/56
VWL2041 Letter from Jean Stewart to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460601 i vi 46
VWL594 Letter from Hubert Foss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19251111 11-11-25
VWL3523 Letter from Elizabeth Poston to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570610 10th June, 1957
VWL3702 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19600130 January 30th, 1960.
VWL3697 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19581103 November 3rd, 1958.
VWL3705 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19581027 October 27th, 1958.
VWL3699 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Ralph Vaughan Williams 19590120 January 20th, 1959
VWL1011 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320920 [20th September 1932]
VWL2940 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490106 January 6 [1949]

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