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
VWL5061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19330806 August 6 [1933]
VWL5060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edgar Stafford Arthur Herbert 19190101 January 1st 1919
VWL4999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lionel Benson 1905---- [ca 1905]
VWL4582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W. Norman Boase 19270216 Feb 16th [about 1927]
VWL4546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lord Gorell 19291123 November 23, 1929
VWL4428 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Turner Levy 19520416 16th April, 1952
VWL4375 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Lefanu 19580502 2 May, 1958
VWL4374 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19530729 29 July, 1953
VWL4300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19570303 March 3rd, 1957.
VWL4081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19580819 August 19th 1958
VWL3954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 1944---- Oct 18 [1944]
VWL3953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19500108 Jan 8 [1950]
VWL3898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL3897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL3894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930]
VWL3887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931?]
VWL3886 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 194----- Nov 2 [1940s]
VWL3881 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19320910 [19320910]
VWL3873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19321228 December 1932
VWL3869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1934---- Sunday [1934]
VWL3855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1930s?]
VWL3854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1929---- [1929?]
VWL3835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19321115 Nov 15 [1932]
VWL3827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1932---- [1932?]
VWL3823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 192712-- [mid-December 1927]
VWL3822 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 192712-- [December 1927?]
VWL3821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193008-- [August 1930]
VWL3819 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19300830 [late August 1930]
VWL3726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19370920 [20 September, 1937]
VWL3689 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19580921 September 21st 1958

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