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
VWL2859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Howgill (BBC) 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL2826 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540604 [4 June 1954]
VWL2804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19480930 30th September, 1948.
VWL2790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19480828 Aug 28 [1948]
VWL2779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480723 23rd July, 1948.
VWL2778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480716 July 16 [1948]
VWL2719 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19530912 September 12th 1953
VWL2715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19530909 September 9th 1953
VWL2713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19530825 Aug 25 [1953]
VWL2711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530810 August 10th, 1953.
VWL2590 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19480414 14th April, 1948.
VWL2573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19470227 Feb 27 [1947?]
VWL2312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL2267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19510818 18.8.51
VWL2260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510627 27th June, 1951
VWL2089 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19501004 October 4 [1950?]
VWL2083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19500908 8th September, 1950.
VWL2082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500908 [About 8th September 1950]
VWL2049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19500712 12th July, 1950.
VWL1863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.R. Barnes at the BBC 19440208 Feb 8 1944
VWL1854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Zoltán Kodály 193311-- [November 1933]
VWL1457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390109 [9th January 1939]
VWL1407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19381113 Nov 13 [1938]
VWL1375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380919 [19th September 1938]
VWL1310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340923 [23rd September 1934]
VWL1296 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19340912 [12 September 1934]
VWL1294 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19340909 Sunday [?9 September 1934]
VWL1291 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19340904 Tuesday [4 September 1934]
VWL1290 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340829 Wed [29th August 1934]
VWL1289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19340828 Tuesday [probably 28 August 1934]

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