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
VWL2449 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520709 9th July, 1952.
VWL1601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19411213 Sat: [13th December 1941]
VWL5003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Brooke at Novello & Co. 19500628 28th June, 1950.
VWL1764 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430521 [May 21st 1943]
VWL2588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett 19480413 April 13 [1948]
VWL1347 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1935---- Sunday [1935]
VWL1599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19411210 Dec 10 [1941]
VWL2038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460505 May 5 [1946]
VWL312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19231117 17/11/23
VWL2931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19481211 Dec 11 [1948]
VWL2103 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL2376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520312 12th March, 1952.
VWL2410 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520522 22nd May, 1952.
VWL4741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19451004 Oct 4 [1945]
VWL2851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481118 18th November, 1948.
VWL3443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19561025 October 25th 1956.
VWL3441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19561021 October 21st 1956.
VWL1105 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19331022 Oct 22d [after 1933]
VWL3414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL2871 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 19540905 September 5th 1954
VWL522 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 1938---- [1938?]
VWL3205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19551013 October 13th 1955.
VWL3430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19561005 October 5th 1956
VWL1149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 1932---- [1932?]
VWL3729 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice & John Sumsion 19421023 Oct 23, [1942]
VWL2357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19520116 16th January, 1952.
VWL3766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551023 October 23rd 1955.
VWL3759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551006 October 6th, 1955.
VWL3363 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19560818 August 18th 1956.
VWL3412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19560602 June 2nd 1956.

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