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
VWL2894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 1942---- Oct 16 [?1942-1944]
VWL3973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Neville Cardus 1953---- 1953
VWL3399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560513 May 13th 1956.
VWL3262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560130 Jan 30 [1956]
VWL4817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1930---- [1930]
VWL4862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1949---- [late 1940s?]
VWL4774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 1943---- Oct 15 [after 1943]
VWL4645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Oswald Smithers 19530224 February 24th 1953.
VWL5020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL2283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19511017 17th October, 1951.
VWL2609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19530110 Jan 10 [1953]
VWL3404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL2865 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19540902 September 2nd 1954.
VWL3801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500412 12th April, 1950.
VWL2392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520409 9th April, 1952.
VWL3883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193108-- [August 1931]
VWL3884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19480601 June 1st [1948]
VWL3898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL1224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390915 [15th September 1939]
VWL2648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530213 [13th February 1953]
VWL2545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19480129 29th January, 1948.
VWL3568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19571108 Nov 8 1957
VWL3049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Mary Grierson 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL2505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to BBC Copyright Dept 19471218 18th December 1947
VWL125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110311 [About 11th March 1911]
VWL3307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 193701-- [About January 1937]
VWL3394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580130 January 30th 1958.
VWL2415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520524 May 24th 1952
VWL2778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480716 July 16 [1948]

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