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
VWL4289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560304 Sunday [4 March 1956].
VWL5156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370526 May 26th [late 1930s?]
VWL515 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19230415 15.4.23
VWL721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL4446 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370917 [mid-September 1937]
VWL535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19231104 4.11.23
VWL943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19360512 May 12th [c1936?]
VWL2145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19461225 Christmas Day [1946?]
VWL5154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370923 Sept 23d [1937]
VWL5263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boosey & Hawkes 19450523 May 23 1945
VWL2215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Birmingham Reference Library 19510422 April 22 [1951]
VWL4047 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bill, Annette and Jane 19471017 Oct 17 [1947]
VWL364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Reeves 19100512 [12 May 1910]
VWL3206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19551015 [15th Oct 1955]
VWL1674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19420714 July 14 [1942]
VWL2735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19531015 Oct 15 [1953]
VWL1577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19410815 Aug 15 [1941]
VWL3391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19560503 May 3 [1956]
VWL4693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19570825 25 Aug 1957
VWL4840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Van Dieren 1927---- [1927?]
VWL4112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Stevens 19490112 12th January, 1949.
VWL4288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Herrmann[?] 19461030 Oct 30 [1946?]
VWL3097 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Frankel 19550620 June 20 1955
VWL1716 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 19421022 Oct 22 [1942]
VWL1040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 19330119 Jan 19 1933
VWL2201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 19510308 March 8 [1951?]
VWL4478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 195710-- [late October 1957?]
VWL2531 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bee Boeijinga 19480106 Jan 6th [1948]
VWL5243 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beatrice Harrison 19430910 10 Sep [1943]
VWL5255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beatrice Harrison 19481014 14 October, 1948.

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