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
VWL4779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Boyd Neel 193504-- [April 1935]
VWL4778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Boyd Neel 19511114 14th November, 1951.
VWL4782 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Boyd Neel 19401106 Nov 6 [1940]
VWL1537 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lord Kennet 19410520 May 20th, 1941.
VWL4389 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lord Farrer 19350607 June 7th [1935]
VWL3055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lisette and Robert Longman 19491204 Monday [?4th December 1949]
VWL4999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lionel Benson 1905---- [ca 1905]
VWL4038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19420424 April 24 [1942]
VWL4039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19400529 May 29 [1940]
VWL4037 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 1942---- [about 1942]
VWL4041 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19510521 21 May 1951
VWL4576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Baer 19541003 October 3rd 1954
VWL1478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19401221 [21 December 1940]
VWL5230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19510124 Jan 24 1951
VWL2556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Orrey 19521224 24th December, 1952
VWL613 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Fly 19261217 [17th December 1926]
VWL792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Fly 192602-- [?February 1926]
VWL611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Fly 192611-- [November 1926]
VWL4028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Boosey at the Performing Right Society 19480522 May 22nd. 1948
VWL5266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19380516 May 16 [1938]
VWL4996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19560826 August 26th 1956
VWL5267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19380815 Aug 15[?] [1938]
VWL5061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19330806 August 6 [1933]
VWL3911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to LeRoy Van Hoesen jr 19550620 June 20th 1955
VWL2935 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19481216 16th December, 1948.
VWL3001 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490511 11th May, 1949.
VWL2945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490126 26th January, 1949.
VWL2955 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490225 25th February, 1949.
VWL2987 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490428 28th April, 1949.
VWL2983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490413 13th April, 1949.

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