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
VWL1171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL1167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL5192 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hector Home Walker 19530704 July 4th 1953.
VWL2908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hans Vigeland 19560301 March 1st 1956
VWL3873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19321228 December 1932
VWL3854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1929---- [1929?]
VWL3887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931?]
VWL3894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930]
VWL3855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1930s?]
VWL3898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL3897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL5268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gillian Addis 194-0419 April 19 [1940s]
VWL5269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gillian Addis 194-0519 May 19 [1940s]
VWL5172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Rennie Emerson 1934---- 1934
VWL1892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank M. Flack 19521022 22nd. October, 1952
VWL378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19111231 [31st December 1911]
VWL5189 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19030213 Feb 13th [1903]
VWL3218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19551110 November 10th 1955
VWL1812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19431020 Oct 20 [?1943]
VWL2790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19480828 Aug 28 [1948]
VWL1975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500122 Jan 22 [1950]
VWL2199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19510228 28th February, 1951.
VWL1246 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19371009 Oct 9th [1937]
VWL1483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19401231 Dec 31 [1940]
VWL687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 193912-- [Christmas 1939?]
VWL1727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 1945---- [1945]
VWL1866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL3064 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19550227 February 27th 1955.
VWL1994 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500517 17 May, 1950.
VWL2149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470123 Jan 23 [1947]

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