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
VWL4274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501201 Dec 1 [1950]
VWL2059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote 195007-- [About July 1950]
VWL1848 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote 194904-- [?April 1949]
VWL2666 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Cumberlege (OUP) 19530307 March 7th 1953.
VWL2831 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Cumberlege 19540626 June 26th 1954.
VWL3088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19550511 May 11 [1955]
VWL2462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19520827 27th August, 1952.
VWL2545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19480129 29th January, 1948.
VWL3101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19550701 July 1st 1955.
VWL4168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL2151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19470127 [27th January 1947]
VWL2411 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.S. May (OUP) 19520522 22nd. May, 1952.
VWL3299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19580522 May 22nd 1958
VWL3320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19560410 [On or about 10th April 1956]
VWL3493 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 195506-- [Late June 1955]
VWL3519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL2870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19540903 Sept 3rd 1954
VWL3476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570401 April 1st 1957.
VWL3498 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 195607-- [Late July 1956?]
VWL4273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570529 May 29 1957
VWL3504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 1956---- [1956]
VWL3590 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL3278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19580701 July 1 1958
VWL3472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570324 March 24th 1957
VWL3535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570804 August 4th 1957.
VWL3602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19571029 October 29th 1957.
VWL554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 193701-- [About January 1937]
VWL3073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550327 March 27th 1955.
VWL3087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550505 May 5th 1955.
VWL3181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550814 August 14th 1955.

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