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
VWL5221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bridget Fry 19440507 May 7 [1944]
VWL5220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bridget Fry 19430831 August 31st [1943]
VWL5202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to whom it may concern 19320309 March 9th 1932
VWL5187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Corbett 19470531 31 May 1947
VWL5168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Scott 193----- [1930s?]
VWL5154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370923 Sept 23d [1937]
VWL5097 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19400324 Easter Sunday [March 24 1940]
VWL5095 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 194----- [1940s?]
VWL5024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19550224 February 24th 1955.
VWL4889 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 1922---- Monday [1922?]
VWL4850 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 1933---- [1933]
VWL4836 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 194601-- [before 25 January, 1946]
VWL4668 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19451106 Tueday [Nov 6 1945]
VWL4609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Western 19370221 February 21 [1937]
VWL4479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19530817 August 17th 1953.
VWL4471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19341017 [17 Oct 1934]
VWL4329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470513 13 May 1947
VWL4287 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Herrmann 19370917 September 17 [1937]
VWL4263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19370111 January 11 [1937?]
VWL4238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19550620 June 20 [1955]
VWL4237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19550615 June 15th 1955.
VWL4200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19580214 February 14th 1958.
VWL4142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19360420 Monday, [20 April, 1936]
VWL4129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19370917 Sep 17 [1937]
VWL4112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Stevens 19490112 12th January, 1949.
VWL4101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1938---- [?1938]
VWL3977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19290918 18 Sep 1929
VWL3951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530712 July 12th 1953.
VWL3933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19371125 [late November 1937]
VWL3893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930]

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