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
VWL5244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19360215 February 16 1936
VWL5243 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beatrice Harrison 19430910 10 Sep [1943]
VWL5242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19441226 Dec 26 [1944]
VWL5241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19400727 July 27 [1940s]
VWL5240 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19450625 June 25 [1945?]
VWL5239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19401206 Dec 6 [1940?]
VWL5238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19471006 6 Oct 1947
VWL5237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19431225 Xmas Day [1943]
VWL5236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19501016 Oct 16 [1950]
VWL5235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19480426 26 Apr [1948]
VWL5234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Hawkes 19320213 Feb 13 [1932?]
VWL5233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19190502 2/5/19
VWL5232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19540324 March 24th 1954
VWL5231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Philip Hendy 19540324 [March 24 1954]
VWL5230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Woodgate 19510124 Jan 24 1951
VWL5229 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19190412 April 12 [1919]
VWL5228 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Saturday [1903]
VWL5227 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Tuesday [1903]
VWL5226 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Monday [1903]
VWL5225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Allan Wilshire 19370927 Sept 27th [1937]
VWL5224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Sternfeld 19551002 October 2nd 1955
VWL5223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent (probably Artur Rodzinski) 19350518 May 18 [1935]
VWL5222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John O’Brien 19521001 1st October 1952
VWL5221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bridget Fry 19440507 May 7 [1944]
VWL5220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bridget Fry 19430831 August 31st [1943]
VWL5219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elsie Fry 19421226 26 December [early 1940s]
VWL5218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cousins 194-0214 February 14th [1940s?]
VWL5217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- March 13 [1920s]
VWL5216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 192----- [1920s]
VWL5215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Sidgwick 1908---- [probably 1908 or later]

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