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
VWL1048 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330311 [11 March 1933]
VWL4006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Walter at the Performing Right Society 19571223 December 20th 1957.
VWL4007 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Walter at the Performing Right Society 19571230 December 30th 1957.
VWL5003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Brooke at Novello & Co. 19500628 28th June, 1950.
VWL5170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hans Becker 19240606 6/6/24
VWL1433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Granville Bantock 19400828 August 28 [1940]
VWL1430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Granville Bantock 19400821 August 21 [1940]
VWL3887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931?]
VWL3893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930]
VWL3881 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193----- [1930s?]
VWL3834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930]
VWL3869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1934---- Sunday [1934]
VWL5268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gillian Addis 194-0419 April 19 [1940s]
VWL5269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gillian Addis 194-0519 May 19 [1940s]
VWL368 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19110425 April 25th [1911]
VWL1190 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370725 Sunday [25th July 1937]
VWL3172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL2331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511218 18th December, 1951.
VWL3170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490714 14th July, 1949.
VWL4073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Guest 19540815 August 15th 1954
VWL3101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19550701 July 1st 1955.
VWL3062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491123 November 23 [1949]
VWL3078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491116 November 16 [1949]
VWL3114 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491109 9th November, 1949
VWL3435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19561016 October 16th 1956.
VWL1604 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19411217 Dec 17 1941
VWL1808 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Thistleton 19431014 October 14 [1943]
VWL4475 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19380513 May 13 [1938]
VWL3940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 19391120 Nov 20 [1939]
VWL4700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 1930---- [1930s?]

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