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
VWL2277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19511006 Oct 6 1951
VWL2272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19510910 Sept 10 [1951]
VWL2211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alec Robertson (BBC) 19510329 29th March, 1951.
VWL2194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470619 19th June, 1947.
VWL2165 Letter from Arnold Barter to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470408 8.iv.47
VWL2056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460803 Aug 3. [1946]
VWL2042 Letter from Jean Sibelius to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19460618 June 18, 1946
VWL2028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460314 [About 14th March 1946]
VWL1949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19441203 Dec 3 [1944]
VWL1936 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of ‘Music & Letters’ 19441001 October 1st 1944
VWL1930 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19440826 August 26 [1944]
VWL1929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Smith 19440819 August 19 [1944]
VWL1921 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19440706 July 6 [?1944]
VWL1907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19440326 March 26 [1944]
VWL1906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19440319 March 19 [1944]
VWL1905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19440312 March 12 [1944]
VWL1902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440309 March 9 [1944]
VWL1891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19450525 May 25 [1945]
VWL1878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19450314 14 March, 1945
VWL1877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19450305 March 5 [1945]
VWL1872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450207 Feb 7 [1945]
VWL1865 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19440214 14th February 1944
VWL1845 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19450204 Sunday [4 February 1945]
VWL1842 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 194306-- [Late May or early June 1943]
VWL1806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19431002 Oct 2nd [1943]
VWL1804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19430917 17.9.43.
VWL1791 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430627 27 June 1943
VWL1790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19430625 June 25 [1943]
VWL1789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19430623 June 23 1943
VWL1786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19430611 June 11, 43

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