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
VWL1646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell (BBC) 19391211 Dec 11 [1939]
VWL1617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell (BBC) 19391019 Oct 19 [1939]
VWL1364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400120 Jan 20 [1940]
VWL1410 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400324 March 24 [1940]
VWL1391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400322 March 22nd [1940]
VWL1361 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell 19400123 Jan 23 [1940]
VWL3253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major General and Mrs R Lock 19551227 Dec 27 [1955]
VWL4492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19090115 [15 January 1909]
VWL4493 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 1909---- [1909?]
VWL4494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19120603 [Jun 3 1912]
VWL797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Madeleine Dring 19450219 Feb 19
VWL2888 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19541121 November 21st 1954
VWL2882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19541102 November 2nd 1954
VWL2992 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19550124 January 24th 1955
VWL386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19130122 [22 January 1913]
VWL826 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 192908-- [Before August 1929]
VWL129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19020714 [14 July 1902]
VWL179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19020724 [24 July 1902]
VWL514 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19230403 3rd April 1923
VWL180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19021002 2nd October 1902
VWL639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19281107 7th November 1928
VWL3999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louise Dyer 19301127 27 November 1937
VWL3998 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louise Dyer 1920---- [1920s]
VWL5116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Kaufman 19520604 4th June, 1952.
VWL3808 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Hamand 192507-- July 1925
VWL460 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Fleury 19200310 10/3/20
VWL485 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Fleury 192001-- [1920? ]
VWL4777 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Boyd Neel 1943---- [1943?]
VWL4783 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Boyd Neel 194-1102 Nov 2 [1940s]
VWL4786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Boyd Neel 194311-- [November 1943]

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