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
VWL2626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530128 28th January, 1953
VWL2697 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530627 June 27th 1953.
VWL2726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530930 Sept 30 [1953]
VWL3307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3480 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19570411 April 11th [1957]
VWL1033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 193212-- [December 1932]
VWL1149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 1932---- [1932?]
VWL1150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 193209-- [September 1932?]
VWL3183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL1447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19381201 Dec 1st [1938 or earlier?]
VWL1758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19430416 April 16 [1943]
VWL948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19360520 [20 May, or after, 1936]
VWL1728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 1946---- Sunday [1946]
VWL5200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19491007 Friday [7 October 1949]
VWL1838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 194303-- Wednesday [March 1943]
VWL5216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [1920s]
VWL5211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [between 1921 and 1929]
VWL5213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19231210 Monday [10 December 1923]
VWL5217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- March 13 [1920s]
VWL5210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL4226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unknown correspondent 19530420 April 20[?] 1953
VWL5212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified recipient 190----- [early 1900s]
VWL4915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified person 19410102 [Jan 2nd 1941]
VWL5142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified gentleman 19571020 20? October, 1957
VWL5223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent (probably Artur Rodzinski) 19350518 May 18 [1935]
VWL5233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19190502 2/5/19
VWL1547 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19520726 26 July 1952
VWL1697 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19421009 Oct 9 [1942]
VWL2452 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19520726 July 26th l952.
VWL3047 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 194----- Feb 15 [1940s?]

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