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
VWL4289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560304 Sunday [4 March 1956].
VWL5156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370526 May 26th [late 1930s?]
VWL515 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19230415 15.4.23
VWL4446 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370917 [mid-September 1937]
VWL721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19231104 4.11.23
VWL943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19360512 May 12th [c1936?]
VWL2145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19461225 Christmas Day [1946?]
VWL5154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370923 Sept 23d [1937]
VWL5155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 193706-- Sunday [summer 1937]
VWL5263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boosey & Hawkes 19450523 May 23 1945
VWL2215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Birmingham Reference Library 19510422 April 22 [1951]
VWL4047 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bill, Annette and Jane 19471017 Oct 17 [1947]
VWL364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Reeves 19100512 [12 May 1910]
VWL3206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19551015 [15th Oct 1955]
VWL1671 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19410627 June 27 [1941]
VWL1674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19420714 July 14 [1942]
VWL2991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19550122 January 22nd 1955.
VWL2735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19531015 Oct 15 [1953]
VWL2862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19540822 August 22nd 1954
VWL2873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL1577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19410815 Aug 15 [1941]
VWL3391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19560503 May 3 [1956]
VWL4693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19570825 25 Aug 1957
VWL4840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Van Dieren 1927---- [1927?]
VWL4842 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Van Dieren 193410-- Sunday [late October 1934?]
VWL4841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Van Dieren 19300130 January 30 [1930]
VWL1321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard van Dieren 19341020 October 20 [?1934]
VWL4112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Stevens 19490112 12th January, 1949.
VWL4960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Naylor 19580125 Jan 25 1958

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