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
VWL3059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580824 August 24th 1958
VWL4081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580819 August 19th 1958
VWL2359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520127 Jan 27 [1952?]
VWL2405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520423 23rd. April, 1952.
VWL2471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520921 21. September 1952.
VWL2272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510910 Sept 10 [1951]
VWL3382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL1940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19441015 October 15 [1944]
VWL2002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500614 14th June, 1950
VWL2121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19501130 Nov 30 [1950]
VWL2196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510221 21st February, 1951
VWL2254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510613 13th June, 1951.
VWL2307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470710 July 10 [1947]
VWL2393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520409 9th April, 1952.
VWL2502 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19471217 Dec 17 [1947]
VWL2832 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540626 June 26th 1954.
VWL3220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551110 November 10th 1955.
VWL2050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500712 12th July, 1950.
VWL2062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195012-- [?December, 1950]
VWL3402 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19580122 January 22nd 1958.
VWL2534 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521102 November 2nd 1952.
VWL2559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19521226 December 26th 1952.
VWL2063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 195012-- [?December, 1950]
VWL2191 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510218 [?18 Feb, 1951]
VWL2257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510622 June 22 [1951]
VWL3212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551028 October 28th 1955.
VWL3229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551123 Nov 23 [1955]
VWL3233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19551218 December 18th 1955.
VWL1792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19430714 July 14 1943

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