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
VWL4186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 193206-- [June 1932]
VWL4185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 193206-- [June 1932]
VWL4184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 193206-- [June 1932?]
VWL4183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19320216 Feb 16 [1932]
VWL4182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19320129 [Jan 29 1932]
VWL4181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19451015 Oct 15 [ca 1945]
VWL4180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19400225 Feb 25 [ca 1940]
VWL4179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19400308 March 8, [ca 1940]
VWL4178 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19350803 August 3, [1935]
VWL4177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19290714 July 14 [1929]
VWL4176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19290310 March 10 [1929]
VWL4175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 192604-- [April? 1926]
VWL4174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19260418 April 18 [1926]
VWL4173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 192604-- [April? 1926]
VWL4172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 192603-- [March? 1926]
VWL4148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500503 3rd May, 1950.
VWL4143 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19350425 April 25 [?1935]
VWL4142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19360420 Monday, [20 April, 1936]
VWL4141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19330924 Sep 24 [?1933]
VWL4140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 1933---- [?1933]
VWL4139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19330430 April 30 [1933]
VWL4138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 193407-- Sunday [?July, 1934]
VWL4137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19461107 Nov 7 [1946]
VWL4136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 1943---- [?1943]
VWL4135 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 1933---- [1933?]
VWL4134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192711-- [?November, 1927]
VWL4133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19270113 Jan 13 [?1927]
VWL4132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192701-- Sunday, [January, ?1927]
VWL4131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19261108 Nov 8 [1926?]
VWL4130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19420908 August 9 [1942?]

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