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
VWL681 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson at the BBC 19290730 [30 July 1929]
VWL1078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 19330810 August 10 [1933]
VWL1086 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 19330815 August 15 [1933]
VWL1263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson 19340617 June 17th [1934]
VWL4885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230915 [mid-September 1923]
VWL1495 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- Wednesday [August 1940]
VWL1375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380919 [19th September 1938]
VWL1861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood at the BBC 19440121 Jan 21 [1944]
VWL1859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440115 [Mid January 1944]
VWL1917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440531 May 31 [1944]
VWL1862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440205 Feb 5. [1944]
VWL1867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440225 Feb 25 [1944]
VWL1909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440329 March 29 [1944]
VWL1439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reginald Thatcher (BBC) 19400924 Sept 24 [1940]
VWL2859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Howgill (BBC) 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL3687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19500920 20th September, 1950.
VWL1355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193407-- [late July 1934]
VWL1569 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 19390623 June 23 [1939]
VWL1906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19440319 March 19 [1944]
VWL3231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19551217 December 17th 1955.
VWL2048 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19460803 Aug 3 [1946]
VWL2468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520917 17th September, 1952
VWL1063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330722 [22 July 1933]
VWL2082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500908 [About 8th September 1950]
VWL3887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931?]
VWL3821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1933---- [September 1933?]
VWL3869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1934---- Sunday [1934]
VWL1925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19440813 Aug 13 [?1944]
VWL4466 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1939---- Tuesday [1939?]
VWL373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19110708 [8th July 1911]

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