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
VWL1602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19391010 [10 October 1939]
VWL1789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19430623 June 23 1943
VWL2080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19500901 1st September 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]
VWL2148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470113 Jan 13 [1947]
VWL2381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19520316 March 16th 1952.
VWL2857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL3620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19480219 19th February, 1948.
VWL3621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL1916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19440522 May 22 [1944]
VWL2026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19460115 Jan 15 [1946]
VWL1609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director-General (BBC) 19391018 Oct. 18 [1939]
VWL1107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361118 [18th November 1936]
VWL5156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370526 May 26th [late 1930s?]
VWL2505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to BBC Copyright Dept 19471218 18th December 1947
VWL2683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19530513 13th May, 1953
VWL2211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alec Robertson (BBC) 19510329 29th March, 1951.
VWL2551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521127 27th November, 1952.
VWL4147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510517 17th May, 1951.
VWL2576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480304 4th. March, 1948.
VWL1587 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19411113 13 Nov 41
VWL1907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19440326 March 26 [1944]
VWL1589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19411117 [?17 November 1941]
VWL3096 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19550619 [19 June 1955]
VWL1884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450401 April 1 [1945]
VWL2773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19480624 24th June, 1948.
VWL2324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19471004 Oct 4th 1947
VWL5000 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19391015 Oct 15 [1939]
VWL5196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440802 Aug 2d [1944]

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