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
VWL4977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W. Paston 19380522 Sunday [22 or 29 May 1938]
VWL4976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19380516 May 16 [1938]
VWL4960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Naylor 19580125 Jan 25 1958
VWL4952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19131221 21 Dec., 1913
VWL4951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn/Winter 1913]
VWL4950 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn 1913]
VWL4949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn 1913]
VWL4948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn 1913]
VWL4947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19130723 27th July, 1913.
VWL4946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 191306-- June 1913
VWL4945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19120710 [10 July, 1912]
VWL4944 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL4943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL4942 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19120101 1 Feb 12
VWL4941 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110815 [inter 7-20 August 1911]
VWL4940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110810 [inter 7-20 August 1911]
VWL4939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1910---- [1910?]
VWL4938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1910--- [1910?]
VWL4937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110713 13 Jul. [1911]
VWL4936 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1910---- [1910?]
VWL4935 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19490511 May 11 [1949]
VWL4934 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Leigh 19420603 June 3rd, 1942.
VWL4933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 19140901 Sept 1st [1914]
VWL4932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 191411-- [late November 1914]
VWL4931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.J.L.J. Massé 191409-- [autumn 1914]
VWL4930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 19140830 [end August 1914]
VWL4929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Kennedy 19380116 16th January 1938
VWL4928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Kennedy 19371218 18 Dec 1937
VWL4927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Dexter Truscott 192606-- June 1926
VWL4926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Dexter Truscott 19250617 17/6/25

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