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
VWL3161 Letter from Jean Sibelius to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19490811 August 11, 1949
VWL3061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL3005 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19490529 May 29, 1949
VWL2933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19481215 15 January, 1948
VWL2854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19481208 8th December, 1948.
VWL2853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19481124 [24 Nov 1948]
VWL2806 Letter from Genia Hornstein to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19481011 11.X.48
VWL2783 Letter from Serge Koussevitzky to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480810 August 10, 1948
VWL2776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19480715 15th July, 1948
VWL2774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19480708 8th July, 1948.
VWL2773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19480624 24th June, 1948.
VWL2772 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19480624 24th June, 1948.
VWL2598 Letter from Patrick Hadley to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480508 8 May 1948
VWL2596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.J. Dent 19480429 29th April, 1948
VWL2595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nikolai Malko 19480429 29th April, 1948
VWL2592 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480416 16th April, 1948
VWL2588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett 19480413 April 13 [1948]
VWL2584 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480325 25th March, 1948.
VWL2563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL2514 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19480104 January 4 [1948]
VWL2513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19471227 27th December, 1947.
VWL2512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19471227 27th December, 1947
VWL2502 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19471217 Dec 17 [1947]
VWL2501 Letter from Robert Müller-Hartmann to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471216 16th December 1947
VWL2428 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520621 June 21st 1952.
VWL2423 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520530 May 30th., 1952.
VWL2417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19471120 20th November, 1947.
VWL2407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19520502 May 2nd [1952]
VWL2402 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471119 19th November, 1947.

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