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
VWL4635 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of Morley College 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL1880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Leonard Starey 19450315 [c.15th March 1945]
VWL3271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Frank Rust 19580803 [Aug. 3rd 1959]
VWL3507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Frank Rust 195807-- [July 1958]
VWL1392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Pilgrim Trust 19400403 April 3 [1940]
VWL4018 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400121 [21 January 1940]
VWL4051 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19520104 Jan 4th 1952
VWL4019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400320 March 20 [1940]
VWL4012 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19311202 Dec.2nd 1931.
VWL4016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400104 Jan 4th [1940]
VWL4025 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19470526 May 26 1947
VWL4026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19480512 May 12 1948
VWL4014 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19381030 Oct 30 [1938]
VWL4015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19391226 Dec 26 1939
VWL4022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19411117 Nov 17 1941
VWL4023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19440313 [13 March 1944]
VWL4055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19550306 March 6th 1955.
VWL4017 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400111 Jan 11 [1940]
VWL4024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19420111 Jan 11th 1942
VWL4057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19570502 May 2nd [1957]
VWL4020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19400404 April 4 [1940]
VWL3322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the performers in the LHMF Passion 19580316 March 16th 1958.
VWL2203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the performers in the Leith Hill Musical Festival of 1951 19510308 March 8 [1951]
VWL2055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the performers in the Leith Hill Musical Festival of 1950 195004-- [April/May 1950]
VWL2915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Müller-Hartmann and Hornstein families 19481016 Oct 16 [about 1948?]
VWL284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971013 Wednesday, October 13 1897
VWL286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971027 October 27, l897
VWL647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musical Times 193802-- February 1938
VWL2309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Music Librarian (BBC) 19470721 July 21 [1947]
VWL4062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194109-- [September] 1941

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