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
VWL5192 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hector Home Walker 19530704 July 4th 1953.
VWL5191 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19041030 Oct 30th [1904]
VWL5190 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19030214 Feb14th [1903]
VWL5189 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19030213 Feb 13th [1903]
VWL5188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Johannesburg City Orchestra 19481118 18th November 1948
VWL5187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Corbett 19470531 31 May 1947
VWL5186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Harvey 19390212 February 12 [1939]
VWL5185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sinclair Logan 194-0823 August 23 [1940s]
VWL5184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E.M. Butcher 19520220 20th February, 1952.
VWL5183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E.M. Butcher 19520522 22. May, 1952.
VWL5182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 194-0624 June 24 [1940?]
VWL5181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cliff Goodchild 19550104 January 4th, 1955.
VWL5180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr John 192106-- [June 1921]
VWL5179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hugh Percy Allen 19110310 [10 March 1911]
VWL5178 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society 19530511 May 11 [1953]
VWL5177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society 19530128 Jan 28 1953
VWL5176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society Ltd 19530415 15th April, 1953.
VWL5175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an Italian correspondent 19321213 December 13 [1932]
VWL5174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Blanning 19530316 March 16th 1953
VWL5173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harald Landry 19400610 June 10th [1940]
VWL5172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Rennie Emerson 1934---- 1934
VWL5171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.N. Barran 18940218 Feb 18 1894
VWL5170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hans Becker 19240606 6/6/24
VWL5169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Nicholson 19491221 21st. December, 1949.
VWL5168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Scott 193----- [1930s?]
VWL5167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Travers 19520511 May 11 1952
VWL5166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sinclair Logan 193-0208 Feb 8 [1930s?]
VWL5165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reading Choral Society, Pennsylvania 1941---- [late 1941?]
VWL5164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541126 Nov 26 1954
VWL5163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Catelinet 19550118 [18 January 1955]

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