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
VWL4562 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Watkins Shaw 19540601 June 1st 1954
VWL4561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walford Davies 19360329 March 29 [1936]
VWL4560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sidney Waddington 1929---- [early 1929?]
VWL4559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 1946---- [early 1946]
VWL4558 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL4557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310715 [15 July 1931]
VWL4556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19470513 13 May, 1947
VWL3586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19571014 [October 14th 1957]
VWL3455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Howells 19561223 December 23rd 1956.
VWL3438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19361018 [18 October 1936]
VWL3433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19561013 October 13th 1956.
VWL3335 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19580223 February 23rd 1958.
VWL3326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19580308 March 8th 1958.
VWL3209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19551022 22nd October 1955
VWL3192 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19580925 25th September 1958
VWL3134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19491013 13th October, 1949.
VWL2971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19490317 [17 March 1949]
VWL2834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19481014 14th December [i.e. October], 1948.
VWL2564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19521231 31st December 1952
VWL2504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Howells 19521017 October 17th 1952.
VWL2473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leopold Stokowski 19520924 24th September 1952
VWL2470 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520917 17th Septr. 1952.
VWL2449 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520709 9th July, 1952.
VWL2338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19471015 15th October, 1947.
VWL2284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19511017 17th October, 1951.
VWL2247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19510521 21st May 1951
VWL2190 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19510214 14th February, 1951.
VWL2189 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19510207 7th February, 1951.
VWL2131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19461014 Oct 14 [1946]
VWL2113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19501018 18th 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