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
VWL2801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480919 Sunday [19th September 1948]
VWL2878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19541020 [About 20th October 1954]
VWL2083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19500908 8th September, 1950.
VWL2130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19461013 Oct 13 [1946]
VWL2168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19470420 April 20 [1947]
VWL1920 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19440617 June 17 [?1944]
VWL3577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19571013 Oct 13 [1957]
VWL2327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19471014 Oct 14th [1947]
VWL2615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL2655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530215 15th February 1953.
VWL3135 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491013 Thursday [Oct 13/49.]
VWL2792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480915 Sept 15 1948
VWL3000 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19490511 11th May, 1949.
VWL2343 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold and Jo Goldsborough 195105-- [May 1951]
VWL3151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Vercoe 19490824 24th August, 1949
VWL2639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530204 4th February, 1953
VWL2860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19540813 August 13th l954.
VWL2286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19511114 14th November, 1951
VWL3462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19570127 January 27th 1957.
VWL3106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19550730 July 30th 1955
VWL2120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19501129 29th November, 1950
VWL2266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510815 15th August, 1951
VWL2296 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19511114 14th November, 1951
VWL2118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19501108 8th November, 1950
VWL2374 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19520305 5th March, 1952.
VWL2728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19531005 October 5th [1953]
VWL3415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL3574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19571005 October 5th 1957.
VWL3589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19571015 October 15th 1957
VWL3965 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530128 28th January, 1953.

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