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
VWL4995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19360208 Feb 8 [1936]
VWL4976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19380516 May 16 [1938]
VWL4989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19370709 July 9th [1937]
VWL4991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19280223 Feb 23 [1928]
VWL4994 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19260629 June 29 [1926]
VWL4978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19380703 July 3rd. [1938]
VWL4982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401119 [19 or 20 November, 1940]
VWL4986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401114 Nov 14 [1940]
VWL4987 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19411020 Oct 20 [1941]
VWL4990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19411014 Oct 14 1941
VWL1821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss (BBC) 19431215 Dec 15 [1943]
VWL1637 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss (BBC) 19420322 March 22 [1942]
VWL522 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 1938---- [1938?]
VWL705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19350427 April 27 [1935]
VWL1762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19430510 May 10 [1943]
VWL1325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19341106 Nov 6 [1934]
VWL2434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19471210 10th December, 1947.
VWL2605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 195210-- [October 1952?]
VWL2606 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 195210-- [October 1952?]
VWL2380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19520316 March 16th 1952
VWL1830 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 194711-- November, 1947
VWL2354 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19520109 9th January, 1952.
VWL2356 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19520116 16th January, 1952
VWL2683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19530513 13th May, 1953
VWL2777 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19480716 16th July, 1948.
VWL2782 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19480819 19th August, 1948.
VWL3360 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19570728 July 28th 1957
VWL5112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold van Wyk 19510321 21st. March, 1951.
VWL5110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold van Wyk 19510725 25th July, 1951.
VWL2386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19520403 3rd. April, 1952

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