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
VWL1662 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19420518 May 18 [1942]
VWL4936 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1910---- [1910?]
VWL4941 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110815 [inter 7-20 August 1911]
VWL4943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL4952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19131221 21 Dec., 1913
VWL5002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 194206-- [?June 1942]
VWL5003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Brooke at Novello & Co. 19500628 28th June, 1950.
VWL5173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harald Landry 19400610 June 10th [1940]
VWL2908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hans Vigeland 19560301 March 1st 1956
VWL5170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hans Becker 19240606 6/6/24
VWL4117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hal Burton 19510221 21st. February, 1951.
VWL4931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.J.L.J. Massé 191409-- [autumn 1914]
VWL469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.H. Flagler 19210201 1/2/21
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?]
VWL923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310712 July 12 [1931]
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]
VWL2513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19471227 27th December, 1947.
VWL1764 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430521 [May 21st 1943]
VWL1784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430523 May 23 [1943]
VWL1761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19430506 May 6 [1943]
VWL1905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19440312 March 12 [1944]
VWL2588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett 19480413 April 13 [1948]
VWL3793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500607 7th June, 1950.

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