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
VWL423 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Constance Machray 19160405 April 5th [1916]
VWL4833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19150808 Aug 8th 1915
VWL4126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19420510 May 10 [1942]
VWL1642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19391128 Nov 28 [1939]
VWL436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 19171228 Dec 28th [1917]
VWL4100 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Canon Briggs 19400201 Feb 1st [1940]
VWL1526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to BBC Director General 19410309 March 9 [1941]
VWL4986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401114 Nov 14 [1940]
VWL1821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss (BBC) 19431215 Dec 15 [1943]
VWL1541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19410615 June 15 [1941?]
VWL1468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19401031 October 31 [1940]
VWL3787 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19450110 10 Jan 45.
VWL1434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19400902 [About 2nd September 1940]
VWL1458 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19401004 October 4 [1940]
VWL1463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19401026 Oct 26 [1940]
VWL1471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19401115 Nov 15 [1940]
VWL5000 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19391015 Oct 15 [1939]
VWL1738 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19421226 Dec 26 [1942]
VWL1814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19431026 Oct 26 [1943]
VWL1688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19420909 Sept 9 [1942]
VWL1690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19420921 Sept 21 [1942]
VWL1721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19421025 Oct 25 [1942]
VWL1615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19411228 Dec 28 1941
VWL5046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19400723 [Tuesday July 23, 1940]
VWL4970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Maud Karpeles to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19400803 3 August 1940.
VWL1624 Letter from R.O.Morris to Alice Sumsion 19420103 Jan 3 1942
VWL1957 Letter from Michael Tippett to Ralph Vaughan Williams 194401-- Sat [?January 1944]
VWL1933 Letter from James W. Welch (BBC) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19440912 12th September, 1944.
VWL1415 Letter from Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19400416 April 16th, 1940.
VWL5229 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19190412 April 12 [1919]

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