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
VWL3526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570821 Wed.[21 August 1957]
VWL3386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580203 February 3rd 1958
VWL3387 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19560417 April 17th 1956
VWL3470 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570305 March 5th [1957]
VWL3532 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19570724 [24 July 1957]
VWL3598 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19571025 October 25th 1957
VWL3267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580824 August 24th 1958
VWL3564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19571117 [17th November 1957]
VWL4081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580819 August 19th 1958
VWL3349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19560706 July 6th 1956
VWL3383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580209 February 9th 1958
VWL3392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19560506 May 6th [1956]
VWL3581 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19571014 October 14th [1957]
VWL4560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sidney Waddington 1929---- [early 1929?]
VWL2642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sidney P. Waddington 19530205 [About 5th February 1953]
VWL2932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sidney P. Waddington 19481215 Dec 15 [1948]
VWL4623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sidney Newman 19520312 12th March, 1952.
VWL5126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19480819 19th August 1948.
VWL5123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19450430 [April 30 1945]
VWL5125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL5121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19351203 Dec 3 [1935]
VWL5122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19450422 Apr 22 1945
VWL5124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 1932---- [1932?]
VWL5128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19490508 May 8th [1949?]
VWL4568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to S.B. Lewertoff 19460317 March 17 [1946]
VWL3631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL3633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19400312 March 12 [early 1940s]
VWL899 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19310118 January 18 [1931]
VWL1279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19350816 August 16 [1935?]
VWL2234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19510515 [15 May 1951]

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