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
VWL5044 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and many others to the Editor of The Times 19381118 18 November [1939]
VWL5069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Geoffrey Bush to the Editor of The Times 19570405 Friday 5 April, 1957
VWL980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19410821 Aug 21 [?1941]
VWL4554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19130113 Jan 13th 1913,
VWL1436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19400906 Septr 6, 1940
VWL543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240322 22/3/24
VWL4352 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19520214 14.2.52
VWL2921 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 1953---- [1953-1957]
VWL3952 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530216 February 16th [1953]
VWL3663 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550914 Sept 14th 1955
VWL3714 Letter from Margot Fonteyn to Vaughan Williams Memorial subscribers 195903-- March, 1959
VWL2881 Letter from Luther Noss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19541028 October 28, 1954
VWL822 Letter from Lady Wimborne to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19351212 December 12th l935
VWL2843 Letter from John Warrack to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19540713 13th July 1954
VWL1752 Letter from Jean Stewart to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430218 18:2:43
VWL5194 Letter from George Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 189306-- [June 1893?]
VWL1425 Letter from G.M. Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19400612 June 12 1940
VWL2402 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471119 19th November, 1947.
VWL2608 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530109 9th January 1953
VWL2306 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470709 9th July, 1947.
VWL2217 Letter from Edward J. Dent to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510427 27 April 1951
VWL3785 Letter from Dorothy Davison and Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19321201 1 Dec [1932]
VWL707 Letter from Clive Wigram to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350517 17th. May, 1935.
VWL2775 Letter from Alan Frank (OUP) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480712 12th July l948
VWL571 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19240901 [Early September 1924]
VWL3239 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 192-0605 June 5 [1920s]
VWL3246 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19260910 Friday September 10 [1926]
VWL1025 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19321202 Dec 2 [1932]
VWL1047 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19330223 Feb 23 [1933]
VWL1088 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330827 Sunday [?27th August 1933]

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