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.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SOURCES AND COPYRIGHT

Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19490814 [14] Aug [1949]
VWL2027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19460207 Feb 7 1946
VWL3261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Howgill (BBC) 19560129 January 29th 1956
VWL5099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Cruft 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Burnaby 192311-- [?Late 1923]
VWL517 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Burnaby 19230610 [About 10 June 1923]
VWL599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Burnaby 19260214 Feb 14th [1926]
VWL777 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Burnaby 192210-- [Late 1922]
VWL778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Burnaby 192303-- [Early 1923]
VWL5017 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19511016 Oct 16 [1951]
VWL5021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19530609 June 9 [1953]
VWL5026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19580328 [28 March 1958]
VWL5036 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19360809 [9 Aug 1936]
VWL5010 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL5011 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19500125 25th January, 1950.
VWL5016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19510912 12th September, 1951.
VWL5019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19521110 November 10th 1952.
VWL5032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19461020 Oct 20 [1946]
VWL5008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19380516 May 14 [1938]
VWL5014 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19501115 15th November, 1950.
VWL5018 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19520305 5th. March, 1952.
VWL5020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL5024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19550224 February 24th 1955.
VWL5034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 193510-- [Oct 1935]
VWL5035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19361012 [12 Oct 1936]
VWL5007 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19381106 Nov 6 [1938]
VWL5009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19480211 12 [i.e.11] February, 1948.
VWL5022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19531018 October 18th 1953.
VWL5023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19531025 October 25th 1953.
VWL5027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19580724 July 24th 1958.

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