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.

Searching:
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
VWL2492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19511014 Oct 14 [1951]
VWL2649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19530214 February 14th 1953.
VWL2810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19481014 Oct 14 [1948]
VWL1960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 1944---- [1943 or 1944]
VWL2159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19510102 Jan 2nd 1951
VWL1962 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19450915 Sept 15 [1945]
VWL1963 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19451006 Oct 6 [1945]
VWL2487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19521012 October 12th, 1952
VWL1944 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19450807 Aug 7th [1945]
VWL1946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19450821 Aug 21 [1945]
VWL3208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19551022 [22 Oct 1955]
VWL2240 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19510520 [20 May 1951]
VWL2530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19521030 Oct 30 1952
VWL3127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19491025 Oct 25 [1949]
VWL3204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19551013 Oct 13 [1955]
VWL2954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19490217 17th February, 1949.
VWL2959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19490309 9th March, 1949
VWL2961 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19490315 March 15 [1949]
VWL4727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to K.J. Burrell 19580328 March 28th 1958.
VWL1182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage at the BBC 19340118 Jan 18 [1934]
VWL1906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19440319 March 19 [1944]
VWL1184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19340128 Sunday [28th January 1934]
VWL3486 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Juanita Berlin 19570504 May 4th 1957
VWL4963 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Stanhope-Lovell 19550902 Sept 2d 1955
VWL2450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19520716 July 16 [1952]
VWL2011 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19451026 Oct 26 [1945]
VWL2420 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19471125 Nov 25 [1947]
VWL1904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19440303 March 3 [1944]
VWL1397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Gayford 19400222 Feb 22nd [1940]
VWL1693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19420927 Sunday [?27th September 1942 ]

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