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
VWL2328 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Jessie Wood 19471015 15th October, 1947.
VWL4394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Goodrich 191405-- [May 1914]
VWL1888 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Dorothea Croft 19450512 May 12 [1941-1945]
VWL438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Dorothea Butterworth 19180216 Saturday [?16th February 1918]
VWL2474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Beryl Lock 19520925 Monday [?25th September 1952]
VWL4036 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to L.W. Wale 19311022 October 22 [1931]
VWL4614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to L.P. Pells 19350419 April 19 [1935]
VWL448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to L.J. Pollard 19190203 3/2/19
VWL2248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kirstie Milford 193-1018 Oct 18 [1930s?]
VWL973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19311119 [About 19th November 1931]
VWL975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19311122 Nov 22 [1931]
VWL1466 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19401031 Oct 31 [1940]
VWL1788 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19430615 [15 June 1943]
VWL2185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19470531 31st May, 1947.
VWL1927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19440818 August 18 [1944]
VWL1931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19440903 Sept 3 [1944]
VWL2323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright 19471001 1st October, 1947.
VWL4645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Oswald Smithers 19530224 February 24th 1953.
VWL4643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Oswald Smithers 19530415 15th April, 1953.
VWL784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Curwen 192403-- Sunday [about March 1924]
VWL3067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Falkner 19550307 March 7th 1955.
VWL1083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Falkner 193303-- [About March 1933]
VWL4725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Douglas 1937---- [March 1937?]
VWL4720 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Douglas 19360823 August 23 [1936]
VWL4723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Douglas 1937---- [Spring 1937]
VWL3695 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Riddick 19570122 January 22nd 1957.
VWL1569 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 19390623 June 23 [1939]
VWL3636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194-11-- [1940s?]
VWL3637 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194---- [late 1940s?]
VWL3635 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194-0907 Sept 7 [1940s?]

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