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
VWL1248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19371025 [24 Oct 1937]
VWL1332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380703 July 3 (1938)
VWL956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19360719 July 19th [1936]
VWL1170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL1287 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380420 April 20 [1938]
VWL1530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410407 April 7 [1941]
VWL1553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410803 Aug 3rd [?1941]
VWL1567 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19390612 June 12 [1939]
VWL804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19351012 October 12 [1935]
VWL879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19360208 8 Feb 1936
VWL1278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380127 January 27 [1938]
VWL1584 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19411106 Nov 6 [1941]
VWL807 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19351019 19 Oct 1935
VWL1169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370711 July 11 1937
VWL1226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19391231 Dec 31 [1939]
VWL1359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19400120 Jan 20 [1940]
VWL803 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19351007 October 7 [1935]
VWL1507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 1940---- [1940]
VWL1520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410118 Jan 18 [1941]
VWL1581 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410912 Sep 12 [1941]
VWL1284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380325 March 25 [1938]
VWL1367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380722 July 22 [1938]
VWL1539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410613 June 13 [1941]
VWL1276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380126 [Jan. 26, 1938]
VWL184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19350106 [6 January 1935]
VWL1588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19411117 Nov 17 [1947]
VWL2495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19521014 October 14th 1952
VWL2614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL1843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 194311-- [1943]
VWL2195 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510221 21st. February, 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