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
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]
VWL5162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541111 November 11th 1954.
VWL5161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541106 Nov 6th [1954]
VWL5160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541103 1954 NOV 3
VWL5159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541102 1954 Nov 2
VWL5158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19430216 [16 February 1943]
VWL5157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 1957---- [1957?]
VWL5156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370526 May 26th [late 1930s?]
VWL5155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 193706-- Sunday [summer 1937]
VWL5154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370923 Sept 23d [1937]
VWL5153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19460928 Sept 28 [1946]
VWL5152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19460222 Feb 22 [1946?]
VWL5151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19390510 [10 May 1939]
VWL5150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19280422 [22 April 1928]
VWL5149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19280918 [18/9/1928]
VWL5148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19280918 18/9/1928

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