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
VWL5165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reading Choral Society, Pennsylvania 1941---- [late 1941?]
VWL4474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19370212 February 12 [1937]
VWL3965 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL3316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560329 March 29th 1956.
VWL2715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19530909 September 9th 1953
VWL2524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521027 October 27th 1952.
VWL2523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Merrick 19521027 October 27th 1952.
VWL1982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19500308 8th March, 1950
VWL1694 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420928 Sept 28 [1942]
VWL1214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19370919 [19 September 1937]
VWL1213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19370919 [19th September 1937]
VWL1212 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370908 Wednesday smorn [8th September 1937]
VWL1206 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370905 Sunday aft [5th September 1937]
VWL1107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361118 [18th November 1936]
VWL1091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A. Wynn (BBC) 19361010 Oct 10th [1936]
VWL984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19361006 [About 6th October 1936]
VWL982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A. Wynn (BBC) 19360921 Sep 20 [1936]
VWL981 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19360831 Monday smorn [31st August 1936]
VWL652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 193809-- [September 1938]
VWL553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 193610-- [About October 1936?]
VWL385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580811 11 August 1958
VWL344 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19421109 9 Nov. 1942

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