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
VWL5133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19410315 15 March, 1941
VWL5132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Listener 19350320 [20 March, 1935]
VWL5079 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19580215 February 15, [1958]
VWL5077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19570425 April 25, [1957]
VWL5073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19571001 [Friday 4 October, 1957]
VWL5051 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams, Adrian Boult and others to the Editor of The Times 19500220 February 20 [1950]
VWL4779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Boyd Neel 193504-- [April 1935]
VWL4727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to K.J. Burrell 19580328 March 28th 1958.
VWL4679 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460801 Thursday morning [1 August 1946]
VWL4534 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19480501 May 1 [1948?]
VWL4356 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Watts 19480310 March 10 [1948]
VWL4335 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531206 December 6th [1953]
VWL4333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19540203 February 3rd 1954.
VWL4235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19461113 Nov 13 [1946]
VWL4223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400821 August 21 [1940]
VWL4160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520202 2nd. February, 1952.
VWL3911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to LeRoy Van Hoesen jr 19550620 June 20th 1955
VWL3909 Letter from LeRoy Van Hoesen, jr to Olin Downes 19550527 May 27, 1955
VWL3866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19350417 [late April 1935]
VWL3857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19270218 Feb 18 [1927]
VWL3770 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480523 May 23 1948
VWL3665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19571015 October 15th 1957
VWL3571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19571001 Oct 1st 1957
VWL3475 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19570329 March 29th 1957½
VWL3474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570329 March 29th 1957
VWL3448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561108 November 8th 1956.
VWL3445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Committee of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust 19561029 October 29th 1956
VWL3434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19561013 October 13th 1956.
VWL3433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19561013 October 13th 1956.
VWL3375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580215 February 15th 1958.

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