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
VWL4671 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1945---- Monday [1945]
VWL2166 Internal BBC memorandum to the Home News Editor from Sir Adrian Boult 19470418 April 18th 1947
VWL1959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 194410-- [October 1944]
VWL1945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450808 Aug 8 [1945]
VWL1942 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson 19441025 Oct 25th [1944]
VWL1940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19441015 October 15 [1944]
VWL1937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19441013 [13 October 1944]
VWL1933 Letter from James W. Welch (BBC) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19440912 12th September, 1944.
VWL1932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reverend James Welch 19440908 Sept 8 [1944]
VWL1931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19440903 Sept 3 [1944]
VWL1927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19440818 August 18 [1944]
VWL1889 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Hely-Hutchinson (BBC) 19450514 May 14th 1945.
VWL1887 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19450509 Wednesday [May 9 1945]
VWL1846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440101 Jan 1/1944
VWL1821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss (BBC) 19431215 Dec 15 [1943]
VWL1816 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19431029 October 29 [1943]
VWL1813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James W. Welch (BBC) 19431023 [23 Oct 1943]
VWL1800 Letter from Arthur Bliss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430817 17th August, 1943

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