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
VWL2540 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480115 15th January, 1948.
VWL2965 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550103 Jan 3 [1955]
VWL3448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561108 November 8th 1956.
VWL3460 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570122 January 22nd 1957.
VWL4147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510517 17th May, 1951.
VWL4154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510919 19th September, 1951.
VWL4164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521008 8th October, 1952.
VWL4165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530802 August 2nd 1953.
VWL4166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540314 March 14th 1954
VWL4171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510221 21st. February, 1951.
VWL4280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521110 Nov 10 [1952]
VWL4442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500208 8th February, 1950.
VWL4452 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19491026 26th October, 1949.
VWL553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 193610-- [About October 1936?]
VWL1971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500108 January 8 [1950]
VWL2268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510824 Aug 24 [1951]
VWL3060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560827 August 27th 1956.
VWL2692 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530613 June 13th 1953.
VWL2707 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530731 [On or about 31st July 1953]
VWL2847 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540728 July 28th 1954.
VWL2861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540817 August 17 [1954]
VWL2568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530105 Jan 5 [1953]
VWL4153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 195108-- [August 1951?]
VWL4155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511017 17th October, 1951.
VWL4160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520202 2nd. February, 1952.
VWL4169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL4170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570215 February 15th 1957.
VWL1983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500308 8th March, 1950.
VWL2030 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460321 March 21 [1946?]

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