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
VWL5157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 1957---- [1957?]
VWL4929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Kennedy 19380116 16th January 1938
VWL4336 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19570118 January 18th 1957
VWL4273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570529 May 29 1957
VWL3572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19571005 October 5th 1957.
VWL3557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570526 May 26th 1957.
VWL3498 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 195607-- [Late July 1956?]
VWL3483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL3472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570324 March 24th 1957
VWL3460 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570122 January 22nd 1957.
VWL3442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561025 October 25th 1956.
VWL3367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560827 August 27th 1956.
VWL3351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560708 July 8th 1956.
VWL2701 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19530711 July 11th 1953.
VWL1641 Memorandum from Norman Peterkin to Sir Humphrey Milford 19420424 April 24th 1942
VWL1593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390726 [26th July, 1939]
VWL1502 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390403 [3 April 1939]
VWL1362 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380717 [17th July 1938]
VWL1218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390730 Sunday [30th July 1939]
VWL663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193904-- [Newcastle, 29th March, 1939]
VWL649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193804-- [About April 1938]

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