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
VWL1821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss (BBC) 19431215 Dec 15 [1943]
VWL1637 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss (BBC) 19420322 March 22 [1942]
VWL522 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 1938---- [1938?]
VWL705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19350427 April 27 [1935]
VWL1325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19341106 Nov 6 [1934]
VWL2605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 195210-- [October 1952?]
VWL2606 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 195210-- [October 1952?]
VWL3360 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19570728 July 28th 1957
VWL5112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold van Wyk 19510321 21st. March, 1951.
VWL5110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold van Wyk 19510725 25th July, 1951.
VWL2386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19520403 3rd. April, 1952
VWL646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 193802-- Wed [?early 1938]
VWL693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 193802-- [After April 1935]
VWL650 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 193809-- [?September 1938]
VWL1374 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19380917 Sep 17th [?1938]
VWL3437 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19561018 October 18th 1956
VWL961 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19360729 July 29 [about 1936?]
VWL723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL1709 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19421019 Oct 19 [1942]
VWL2397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19471016 16th October, 1947
VWL1631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Bax 19420205 [About 5th February 1942]
VWL967 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Bax 19311105 [About 5th November 1931]
VWL3057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491130 Nov 30 [?1949]
VWL1809 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19431014 Oct 14th [about 1943?]
VWL1921 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19440706 July 6 [?1944]
VWL2723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19390925 Sept 25 [?1939 ]
VWL2833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL2099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19460922 Sept 22 1946
VWL2106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19501014 Oct 14 [1950]
VWL2722 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19400924 Sep 24 [?1940]

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