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
VWL4052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Scull at the Performing Right Society 19530130 30th January, 1953.
VWL3394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580130 January 30th 1958.
VWL2958 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19490303 March 3 [1949]
VWL2942 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490114 Jan 14 [1949]
VWL2941 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19490106 Jan 6 1949
VWL2781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480805 5th August, 1948.
VWL2640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530204 4th February, 1953.
VWL2616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL2568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530105 Jan 5 [1953]
VWL2443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520630 June 30th 1952.
VWL2405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520423 23rd. April, 1952.
VWL2393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520409 9th April, 1952.
VWL2392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520409 9th April, 1952.
VWL2372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520227 27th February, 1952
VWL2368 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520220 20th February, 1952
VWL2250 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510530 May 30th, 1951.
VWL2003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19500620 [About 20th June 1950]
VWL2002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500614 14th June, 1950
VWL1993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19500511 11th May 1950
VWL1990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19500405 April 5 [1950]
VWL1983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500308 8th March, 1950.
VWL1972 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19500111 11th January, 1950.
VWL1971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500108 January 8 [1950]
VWL1848 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote 194904-- [?April 1949]

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