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
VWL3781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 19250409 April 9th [1925]
VWL3780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1929032- [Late March 1929]
VWL3779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Humphrey Milford 19420311 March 11 [1942]
VWL3776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Winser 19471107 7th. November, 1947.
VWL3775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Headmaster [of Charterhouse] 1950---- March 30 [ca. 1950]
VWL3774 Letter from Robert Müller-Hartmann to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19461028 28th Oct. 1946
VWL3773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Stich[?] 1930---- Sept 21 [1930s?]
VWL3772 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500726 July 26 1950
VWL3771 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19490421 April 21 1949
VWL3770 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480523 May 23 1948
VWL3769 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551108 November 8th 1955.
VWL3768 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19561204 December 4th 1956.
VWL3767 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550929 September 29th, 1955.
VWL3766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551023 October 23rd 1955.
VWL3765 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551028 28th October 1955.
VWL3764 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551005 November 5th, 1955.
VWL3763 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19450113 13. 1. 45.
VWL3762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19501206 6th December, 1950.
VWL3761 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19501226 December 26th, 1950.
VWL3760 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19551004 4th October 1955.
VWL3759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551006 October 6th, 1955.
VWL3758 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471205 December 5th, 1947.
VWL3757 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550922 September 22nd, 1955.
VWL3756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Pritchard 19461128 Nov 28 1946
VWL3754 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Mitchell 19461008 October 8th, 1946
VWL3753 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorking Madrigal Society 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL3742 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390715 July 15th, 1939.
VWL3741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390907 Thursday, [7 September, 1939?]
VWL3740 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19401106 November 6th, 1940
VWL3739 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19410321 March 21st, 1941

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