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
VWL2063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195012-- [?December, 1950]
VWL2191 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510218 [?18 Feb, 1951]
VWL2257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510622 June 22 [1951]
VWL2276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19511003 [3 October 1951]
VWL3111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550806 August 6th 1955.
VWL3212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551028 October 28th 1955.
VWL3229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551123 Nov 23 [1955]
VWL3233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551218 December 18th 1955.
VWL2760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540125 January 25th. [1954]
VWL2761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540126 January 26th 1954
VWL2815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540503 [3 May 1954]
VWL2933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19481215 15 January, 1948
VWL1985 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Budden 19500322 22nd March, 1950.
VWL2990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ross Lee Finney 19550122 January 22nd 1955.
VWL3091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ross Lee Finney 19550603 June 3rd 1955.
VWL3473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ross Lee Finney 19570329 March 29th 1957.
VWL3280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rosamund Strode 19580629 June 29th 1958
VWL3595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rosamund Strode 19571017 [17th October 1957]
VWL1645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rosamund Gotch 19391210 Dec 10 [??1939]
VWL3009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Gurney 195505-- [May 1955]
VWL3044 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Gurney 19560111 January 11th 1956.
VWL3008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Gurney 19550517 May 17th 1955.
VWL3156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19230102 [2 Jan 1923]
VWL3158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19230418 18 April 1923
VWL3155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 1922---- [1922, after April]
VWL3154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19220412 12/4/22
VWL3159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 192306-- [June 1923]
VWL3157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19230312 March 12 1923
VWL3806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Quilter 19371219 Dec 19th [1937]
VWL1720 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Quilter 19421024 Oct 24 [1942]

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