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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL4158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19511212 12th December, 1951.
VWL4157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511118 November 18th 1951.
VWL4156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511114 14th November, 1951.
VWL4155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511017 17th October, 1951.
VWL4154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510919 19th September, 1951.
VWL4153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 195108-- [August 1951?]
VWL4152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 195108-- Monday [August 1951]
VWL4151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510728 July 28 [1951]
VWL4150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510413 April 13 [1951?]
VWL4149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 1951---- [1951]
VWL4148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500503 3rd May, 1950.
VWL4147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510517 17th May, 1951.
VWL4146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL4145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500322 22nd. March, 1950.
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]
VWL4138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 193407-- Sunday [?July, 1934]
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]
VWL4127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19420705 July 5 [1942]
VWL4125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19490420 20th April, 1949.
VWL4124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Ibberson 19500308 8th March, 1950.
VWL4123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Ibberson 19500322 22nd. March, 1950.
VWL4122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL4121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19501025 25th October, 1950.
VWL4119 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19510501 1st. May, 1951.
VWL4118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19510522 [22 May, 1951]
VWL4117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hal Burton 19510221 21st. February, 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