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
VWL4065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420413 April 13 [1942]
VWL4066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420424 April 24 [1942]
VWL4060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19410711 July 11 1941
VWL4071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 1941---- [1941?]
VWL4067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194204-- [April] 1942
VWL4070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 1942---- [1942]
VWL4072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19440921 21 Sept 1944
VWL4068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194206-- [June] 1942
VWL2800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Molony (BBC) 19540317 March 17th 1954.
VWL1706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19421015 Oct 15 [1942]
VWL1461 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19401017 Oct 17 [1940]
VWL1619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19391025 Oct 25 [1939]
VWL1145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 1930---- [1930s?]
VWL2086 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Leslie (BBC) 19500920 Sep 20 [1950]
VWL4123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Ibberson 19500322 22nd. March, 1950.
VWL4124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Ibberson 19500308 8th March, 1950.
VWL1873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Henn Collins 19450211 Feb 11 [1945]
VWL5183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E.M. Butcher 19520522 22. May, 1952.
VWL5184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E.M. Butcher 19520220 20th February, 1952.
VWL1518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E. Price 19390227 Feb 27 [1939]
VWL1636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Tippett 19420321 March 21 [1942?]
VWL1606 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Tippett 19411217 Dec 17 [1941]
VWL3666 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 1925---- [1925]
VWL3670 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194009-- Tuesday [September 1940]
VWL3672 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194203-- [About March 1942]
VWL3680 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460220 Feb 20 [1946]
VWL3687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500920 20th September, 1950.
VWL3668 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 193401-- [January 1934]
VWL3673 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194808-- [August 1948]
VWL3681 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19460521 May 21 [1946]

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