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
VWL1339 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foster Clark (BBC) 19341127 Nov 27 [1934]
VWL2570 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Rutland (BBC) 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL2513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19471227 27th December, 1947.
VWL1764 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430521 [May 21st 1943]
VWL1784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430523 May 23 [1943]
VWL1761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430506 May 6 [1943]
VWL1905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19440312 March 12 [1944]
VWL2588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett 19480413 April 13 [1948]
VWL1863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.R. Barnes at the BBC 19440208 Feb 8 1944
VWL1609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director-General (BBC) 19391018 Oct. 18 [1939]
VWL1825 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clarence Raybould (BBC) 19431223 [23 December 1943]
VWL3334 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Parker 19580226 February 26th 1958.
VWL1526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to BBC Director General 19410309 March 9 [1941]
VWL1327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Aylmer Buesst (BBC) 19341114 Nov 14 [1934]
VWL1821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss (BBC) 19431215 Dec 15 [1943]
VWL1637 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss (BBC) 19420322 March 22 [1942]
VWL1762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19430510 May 10 [1943]
VWL2211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alec Robertson (BBC) 19510329 29th March, 1951.
VWL1587 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19411113 13 Nov 41
VWL907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19310322 [22 March 1931]
VWL1319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19341016 [About 16th October 1934]
VWL1432 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19400826 [26 August 1940]
VWL1434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19400902 [About 2nd September 1940]
VWL1458 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19401004 October 4 [1940]
VWL1750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19430215 Feb 15 [1943]
VWL2112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19501018 Oct. 18 [1950]
VWL1429 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19400815 Aug 15 [1940]
VWL1676 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19420715 July 15 [1942]
VWL1907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19440326 March 26 [1944]
VWL1610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19411218 Dec 18 [1941 ]

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