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
VWL121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.G. Robinson 1900---- [Before September 1905]
VWL675 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.G. Fiedler 193906-- Sunday [?June 1939]
VWL2043 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H. Raymond Barnett 19460620 June 20 [?1946]
VWL1775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H. Raymond Barnett 194605-- [about May 1946]
VWL2601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 193----- [1930s?]
VWL814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19271001 [October 1927]
VWL927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310720 [c 20 July 1931]
VWL796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19270701 [July 1927]
VWL4690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 1928---- [1928]
VWL1784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430523 May 23 [1943]
VWL1905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19440312 March 12 [1944]
VWL3796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500711 July 11 [1950]
VWL3798 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500802 2nd. August, 1950.
VWL3797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500726 26th July, 1950.
VWL3795 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500702 2 July 1950
VWL3799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL3801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500412 12th April, 1950.
VWL2075 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500814 August 14 [1950]
VWL2107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501014 Oct. 14 [1950]
VWL2958 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19490303 March 3 [1949]
VWL2175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510122 Jan 22 [1951]
VWL4450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19491023 Oct 23 [1949?]
VWL4158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19511212 12th December, 1951.
VWL4277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500817 Aug 17 [1950?]
VWL2115 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501030 Oct. 30 [1950]
VWL2281 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19511015 Oct 15 [1951]
VWL2417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19471120 20th November, 1947.
VWL2447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520706 July 6 [1952]
VWL2663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19530228 [About 28th February 1953]
VWL4149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 1951---- [1951]

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