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
VWL1622 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19391106 [Early November 1939]
VWL1621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elisabeth Lutyens 19391106 Nov 6 [1939]
VWL1620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult 19391031 [October 31 1939]
VWL1619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19391025 Oct 25 [1939]
VWL1618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19391024 Oct 24 [1939]
VWL1617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell (BBC) 19391019 Oct 19 [1939]
VWL1616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391019 19th October [1939]
VWL1615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19411228 Dec 28 1941
VWL1614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19411226 [26 December 1941]
VWL1613 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19411226 Christmas [1941]
VWL1612 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19411225 Xmas Day [25th December ?1941]
VWL1611 Letter from Robert Longman to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19411221 21.12.41
VWL1610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19411218 Dec 18 [1941 ]
VWL1609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director-General (BBC) 19391018 Oct. 18 [1939]
VWL1608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL1607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL1606 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Tippett 19411217 Dec 17 [1941]
VWL1605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391012 [12th October 1939]
VWL1604 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19411217 Dec 17 1941
VWL1603 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Isaacs (BBC) 19411216 Dec 16 1941
VWL1602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19391010 [10 October 1939]
VWL1601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19411213 Sat: [13th December 1941]
VWL1600 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391009 [9 October 1939]
VWL1599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19411210 Dec 10 [1941]
VWL1598 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391007 [7th October 1939]
VWL1597 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Acland Allen 19411207 Dec 7th [1941]
VWL1596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Myra Hess 19391005 Oct 5 [1939]
VWL1595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391003 October 3 [1939]
VWL1594 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19411205 Dec 5 [1941]
VWL1593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390726 [26th July, 1939]

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