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
VWL4036 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to L.W. Wale 19311022 October 22 [1931]
VWL1927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19440818 August 18 [1944]
VWL4720 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Douglas 19360823 August 23 [1936]
VWL1181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage at the BBC 19340113 Jan 13 1934
VWL1341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19341202 Dec 2 [1934]
VWL1344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19341204 Dec 4 [1934]
VWL1184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19340128 Sunday [28th January 1934]
VWL1337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19341118 November 18 [1934]
VWL1903 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19440319 [19 March 1944]
VWL5207 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Weston Poole 19430622 June 22 [1943]
VWL4235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19461113 Nov 13 [1946]
VWL3058 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Tressider Sheppard, Provost of King’s College Cambridge 19491125 November 25 [1949]
VWL599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Burnaby 19260214 Feb 14th [1926]
VWL5008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19380516 May 14 [1938]
VWL5015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19510117 Jan 17 [1951]
VWL5033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19351114 November 14 [1935]
VWL580 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Blackwood McEwen 19260729 [29th July l926]
VWL752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350708 July 8 [1935]
VWL274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350326 March 26 [1935]
VWL250 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350309 March 9 [1935]
VWL545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 193505-- Friday [?May 1935]
VWL783 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350917 September 17 [1935]
VWL933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19360212 Feb 12 [1936]
VWL4607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19351213 December 13 [1935]
VWL272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350316 March 16 [1935]
VWL781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350916 September 16 [1935]
VWL802 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19351006 October 6 [1935]
VWL863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19360109 Jan 9 [1936]
VWL4608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350328 March 28 [1935]
VWL240 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350219 Feb 19 [1935]

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