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
VWL3688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19571220 December 20th 1957
VWL3670 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 194009-- Tuesday [September 1940]
VWL3662 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550112 Jan 12 [1955]
VWL3632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19460512 May 12 [after 1945]
VWL3551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19571231 December 31st 1957.
VWL3479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ian Parrott 19570411 April 11th 1957.
VWL3477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19570402 April 2nd 1957.
VWL3455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Howells 19561223 December 23rd 1956.
VWL3445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Committee of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust 19561029 October 29th 1956
VWL3414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL3411 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560531 May 31st 1956.
VWL3384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer, Leith Hill Musical Festival 19560413 April 13th 1956
VWL3381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560413 April 13 1956
VWL3341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560614 June 14 1956
VWL3249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19380126 [26 Jan 1938]
VWL3244 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 1935---- August 22 [1935?]
VWL3237 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 193-1102 November 2 [1930s]
VWL3099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clifford Gillam (Arnold Bax Society) 19550629 June 29th 1955.
VWL3097 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Frankel 19550620 June 20 1955
VWL3094 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Albert Sturgess 19550609 June 9th 1955.
VWL3057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491130 Nov 30 [?1949]
VWL2993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19550130 January 30th 1955
VWL2988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550117 January 17th 1955.
VWL2883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19541104 November 4th 1954
VWL2801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480919 Sunday [19th September 1948]
VWL2792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19480915 Sept 15 1948
VWL2722 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19400924 Sep 24 [?1940]
VWL2658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530218 18th February, 1953.
VWL2617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530122 January 22nd 1953.
VWL2287 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19511024 24th October, 1951.

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