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
VWL454 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Handel Society 19191107 7/11/19
VWL149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Folk Song Society 190611-- [?November 1906]
VWL273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the editor of Time & Tide 19350316 16 March l935
VWL3184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL2365 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19520204 [4th February 1952]
VWL3427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19561003 [29 September 1956]
VWL2466 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19520912 September 12 [1952]
VWL1330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19380626 June 26 [1938]
VWL5259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the editor of the Sunday Referee newspaper 19341002 [2 Oct 1934]
VWL3039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Northern Echo 19551213 December 13th 1955.
VWL2438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Bournemouth Daily Echo. 19520624 [24th June 1952]
VWL1623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the editor of Civil Liberty 19411231 Dec 31 1941
VWL3445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Committee of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust 19561029 October 29th 1956
VWL1912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Churchwarden, Dorking Parish Church 19440504 May 4th 1944
VWL3187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Choirmaster and members of the Budo Festival Choir 19550829 29 August 1955
VWL4763 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Choir of Kensington High School 19421022 Oct 22 [1942]
VWL2192 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the children of the Parents’ Union School, Ambleside 19510219 February, 1951
VWL608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Bach Choir 19260612 [About 12th June 1926]
VWL2108 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Terence Casey 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL2197 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Terence Casey 19510228 28th February, 1951.
VWL677 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Drew 193906-- [June 1939]
VWL1538 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Drew 19410605 June 5 [1941]
VWL2216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Steuart Wilson 19510427 April 27 [1951] (7.15 A M)
VWL3725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stephanie Pinthus 19370126 January 26th, 1937.
VWL2967 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanley Godman 19550114 Jan 14 1955
VWL4323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Thomas Beecham 19490428 28th April, 1949.
VWL3554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Paul Sinker 19571222 December 22nd 1957.
VWL996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19320211 February 11 [1932]
VWL4215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19470927 Sept 27 [1947]
VWL4214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19460704 July 4 [1946]

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