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
VWL4292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter and Edith Stanton 19521014 October 14th 1952.
VWL4291 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191506-- [May or June, 1915]
VWL4290 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19150515 May 19 [1915]
VWL4289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560304 Sunday [4 March 1956].
VWL4288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Herrmann[?] 19461030 Oct 30 [1946?]
VWL4287 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Herrmann 19370917 September 17 [1937]
VWL4286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dennis Arundell 19570303 March 3rd 1957.
VWL4285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Ashmore 19550521 May 21st 1955.
VWL4284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Richmond 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL4283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580202 [2nd February 1958]
VWL4282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540502 May 2nd 1954
VWL4281 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561018 October 18th 1956.
VWL4280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521110 Nov 10 [1952]
VWL4279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530205 Feb 5 1953
VWL4278 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500909 Sept 9th 1950
VWL4277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19500817 Aug 17 [1950?]
VWL4276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500727 July 27 [1950]
VWL4275 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19510115 Jan 15 [1951]
VWL4274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19501201 Dec 1 [1950]
VWL4273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570529 May 29 1957
VWL4272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 195210-- [October, about 1952]
VWL4271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19511227 Dec 27 [1951]
VWL4270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 1955---- [about 1955?]
VWL4269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Genia Hornstein 19511105 Nov 5 [1951?]
VWL4268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19580704 July 4 1958
VWL4267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19570927 Sept 27 1957
VWL4266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19571013 13 Oct 1957
VWL4265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Molly Imlach 19571018 18 Oct 1957
VWL4264 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19561230 Dec 30 1956 [?]
VWL4263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19370111 January 11 [1937?]

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