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
VWL2915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Müller-Hartmann and Hornstein families 19481016 Oct 16 [about 1948?]
VWL1915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Mü̈ller-Hartmann 19440516 May 16th [1944]
VWL2901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19450605 June 5 [1945?]
VWL2910 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19491109 9th November, 1949
VWL2900 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19450520 May 20 [1945]
VWL2905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19480529 May 29 [1948?]
VWL2913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500512 [12 May 1950]
VWL1792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19430714 July 14 1943
VWL1995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500524 24th May, 1950
VWL1708 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19421018 Oct 18 [1942]
VWL2897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19440423 April 23 [1944]
VWL2902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19451103 Nov 3 [1945?]
VWL2911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19491123 23rd November, 1949
VWL1757 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19430411 April 11 [1943]
VWL2899 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19450418 April 18 [1945]
VWL2906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19480927 Sep 27 [1948? or later]
VWL2912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500511 11th May, 1950.
VWL2909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19491102 2nd November 1949
VWL1869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19450104 Jan 4th [1945]
VWL2952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19490217 17th February, 1949.
VWL1277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19380127 January 27 [1938]
VWL1428 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19400806 Aug 6th 1940
VWL1450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19411218 Dec 18 [1941]
VWL682 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 193908-- Sunday [before September 1939]
VWL2582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19480325 25th March, 1948
VWL2867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19401223 Dec 23 [1940?]
VWL2869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19420101 Jan 1st [1942]
VWL2893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 1942---- [1942-1944?]
VWL2916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500908 8th September, 1950.
VWL2072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19500809 9th August, 1950

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