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
VWL2132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19501220 20th December, 1950.
VWL2131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19461014 Oct 14 [1946]
VWL2130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19461013 Oct 13 [1946]
VWL2129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19461008 Oct 8 [1946]
VWL2128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19461005 Oct 5 [1946]
VWL2127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460927 [27th September 1946]
VWL2126 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19501219 Tuesday [19th December 1950]
VWL2125 Letter from Ursula Wood to Gerald Finzi 19501218 18.12.50.
VWL2124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19491215 Dec 15 [1949]
VWL2123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19501213 13th December, 1950.
VWL2122 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19501208 8.12.50
VWL2121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19501130 Nov 30 [1950]
VWL2120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19501129 29th November, 1950
VWL2119 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19501112 Nov 12 [1950]
VWL2118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19501108 8th November, 1950
VWL2117 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19501103 Friday [3rd November 1950]
VWL2116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19501101 1st November, 1950
VWL2115 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501030 Oct. 30 [1950]
VWL2114 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19501025 25th October, 1950.
VWL2113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL2112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19501018 Oct. 18 [1950]
VWL2111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL2110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert and Dora Foss 19501018 October 18th, 1950
VWL2109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J. L. Boston 19501018 18th October, 1950
VWL2108 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Terence Casey 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL2107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501014 Oct. 14 [1950]
VWL2106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19501014 Oct 14 [1950]
VWL2105 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL2104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL2103 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19501011 11th October, 1950.

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