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
VWL2890 Presentation of Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams to President A. Whitney Griswold by Dean Luther Noss. 19541201 [1 Dec 1954]
VWL2880 Letter from the Secretary of Yale University to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19541027 October 27, l954
VWL674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193906-- [June, 1939]
VWL4592 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians 19340713 July 13th [1934]
VWL2448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19520709 9th July, 1952.
VWL728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 19350607 [7 June 1935]
VWL559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19240623 23.6.24
VWL1331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19380626 Sunday [26 June l938]
VWL1301 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19380522 Sunday [22 May 1938]
VWL1205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19370816 August 16 1937
VWL1303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19380530 Monday [30 May 1938]
VWL3051 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor Arthur Hutchings 19481029 October 29 [1948]
VWL4843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19350608 June 8 [1935]
VWL4660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Coles 19371101 1st Nov [1937]
VWL2451 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Johnston (BBC) 19520719 July 19 [1952]
VWL4867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19350620 [about 20 June 1935]
VWL4891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19350607 June 7 [1940s?]
VWL4600 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19580727 [July 27th, 1958]
VWL2882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19541102 November 2nd 1954
VWL4389 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lord Farrer 19350607 June 7th [1935]
VWL3615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Laurence Binyon 19380709 July 9 [1938]
VWL725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19350607 June 6 [1935]
VWL727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350607 [7th June 1935]
VWL1249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss at Oxford University Press 19371025 [25th October 1937]
VWL2258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510624 [24th June 1951]
VWL643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hermann Fiedler 193707-- [July 1937]
VWL1141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Fisher 19370202 Tuesday [2nd February 1937]
VWL1273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19380103 Jan 3d [1938]
VWL851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19300404 [4th April 1930]

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