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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971013 Wednesday, October 13 1897
VWL286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971027 October 27, l897
VWL647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musical Times 193802-- February 1938
VWL2572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musical Times 19480227 February 27th. 1948.
VWL2309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Music Librarian (BBC) 19470721 July 21 [1947]
VWL4062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194109-- [September] 1941
VWL4063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194110-- [October] 1941
VWL4064 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194112-- [December] 1941
VWL3777 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Mayor of Colchester 19510808 8 August 1951
VWL4591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians 19521019 Oct 18 [1952]
VWL4592 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians 19340713 July 13th [1934]
VWL4593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians 19311009 October 9 [1931]
VWL2360 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Librarian of the Hallé Orchestra 19520131 Jan 31 1952
VWL1419 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Librarian , King’s College, Cambridge. 19400425 April 25th 1940
VWL2067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Headmaster, Charterhouse School 19500719 19th July, 1950.
VWL5280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Headmaster of Charterhouse School, Brian Young 19551105 November 5th, 1955
VWL5278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Headmaster of Charterhouse School 195-0302 March 2 [1950?]
VWL3775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Headmaster [of Charterhouse] 1950---- March 30 [ca. 1950]
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.
VWL5042 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19350211 [11 February 1935]
VWL5080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19301204 Dec. 4, 1930
VWL5102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19561024 Wednesday 24 October, 1956
VWL2365 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19520204 [4th February 1952]
VWL5070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19571016 October 16 [1957]
VWL5072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19560702 [Monday 2 July, 1956]
VWL5073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19571001 [Friday 4 October, 1957]
VWL5100 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19560911 [11 September, 1956]

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