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
VWL611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Fly 192611-- [November 1926]
VWL4996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19560826 August 26th 1956
VWL2185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19470531 31st May, 1947.
VWL3067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Falkner 19550307 March 7th 1955.
VWL2431 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19471204 4th December, 1947.
VWL2184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19470531 31st May, 1947.
VWL2301 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19470625 25th June, 1947.
VWL2804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19480930 30th September, 1948.
VWL2946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19490209 9th February, 1949
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]
VWL3556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19571130 November 30th 1957
VWL3150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19490909 [9th September 1949]
VWL2401 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19471113 13th November, 1947
VWL3149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy & Gerald Finzi 19490911 [11th September 1949]
VWL2162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe 19470221 Feb 21 [1947]
VWL599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Burnaby 19260214 Feb 14th [1926]
VWL3254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19551228 December 28th 1955.
VWL3599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19571025 October 25th 1957.
VWL2533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19521031 Oct 31 [1952]
VWL3265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560210 February 10th 1956.
VWL2274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19510912 12th September, 1951.
VWL3313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL2774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19480708 8th July, 1948.
VWL2957 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19490303 March 3 [1949]
VWL3495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 195509-- [September 1955]
VWL3329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350708 July 8 [1935]
VWL5066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19441014 Oct 14 [1944]

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