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
VWL3731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490605 June 5 [1949]
VWL2232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19510514 May 14 [1951]
VWL3173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490702 Saturday [2 July, 1949]
VWL2719 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19530912 September 12th 1953
VWL2634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice and Herbert Sumsion 19530201 [1 February 1953]
VWL3729 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice & John Sumsion 19421023 Oct 23, [1942]
VWL3993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19390514 May 14 1939
VWL3996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19510808 8 Aug 1951
VWL3995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19501115 15th November, 1950.
VWL3094 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Albert Sturgess 19550609 June 9th 1955.
VWL1929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Smith 19440819 August 19 [1944]
VWL1956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Smith 19441227 Dec 27 [1944]
VWL4726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Kirby 19471022 22nd October, 1947.
VWL2749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531226 December 26th 1953.
VWL2045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460704 July 4 [1946?]
VWL4148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500503 3rd May, 1950.
VWL4312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19341225 Xmas day [1934]
VWL1847 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 194807-- [About July 1948?]
VWL3467 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570221 February 21st 1957.
VWL4308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19471203 Dec 3 [1947]
VWL4309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19471211 11th December, 1947.
VWL2061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 195011-- [November 1950]
VWL3029 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Fluck 19530718 July 18th 1953.
VWL3030 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Fluck 19540114 January 14th 1954.
VWL1454 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390101 Jan 1 [1939]
VWL1468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19401031 October 31 [1940]
VWL1512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390120 Jan 20 [1939]
VWL1524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390310 March 10 [1939]
VWL3741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390907 Thursday, [7 September, 1939?]
VWL3766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551023 October 23rd 1955.

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