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
VWL3645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Max Hinrichsen 19550421 April 21 [1955]
VWL3644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19460828 Aug 28 [1946]
VWL3643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195----- [1950s?]
VWL3640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 1946---- [1946]
VWL3638 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 193906-- Tuesday [?June 1939 ]
VWL3637 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194---- [late 1940s?]
VWL3636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194-11-- [1940s?]
VWL3635 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194-0907 Sept 7 [1940s?]
VWL3634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Hurd 19521015 Oct 15th [1952]
VWL3633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19400312 March 12 [early 1940s]
VWL3632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19460512 May 12 [after 1945]
VWL3631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL3627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL3626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL3625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL3624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193612-- [December 1936]
VWL3617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 192806-- [June 1928]
VWL3616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Canon George W. Briggs 19431003 Oct 3 1943
VWL3614 Note on Cecil Sharp’s accompaniments of folk songs 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL3613 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL3611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL3610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19300311 March 11 [1930]
VWL3604 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Needham 19310101 Jan 1st 1931
VWL3603 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Busch 19381105 Nov 5 [1938]
VWL3599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19571025 October 25th 1957.
VWL3598 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19571025 October 25th 1957
VWL3596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page & Douglas Lilburn 19571018 Oct 18 [1957]
VWL3595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rosamund Strode 19571017 [17th October 1957]
VWL3594 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Strode 19571017 [17th October 1957]
VWL3593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 19571016 [16 October, 1957]

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