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
VWL3992 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19340125 Jan 25 [1934]
VWL3991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19521016 Oct 16 [1952]
VWL3990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19390227 Feb 27 / 39
VWL3989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19330624 [24 June 1933]
VWL3988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19330102 Jan 2d 1933
VWL3987 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19531226 December 26th 1953
VWL3986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to F.W. Evans 19050306 6 March 1905
VWL3985 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19360821 Aug 21 [1936]
VWL3983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19320927 27 Sep 1932
VWL3982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19301230 12 Dec 1930
VWL3981 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19301226 26 Dec 1932
VWL3980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19321006 October 6 [1932]
VWL3979 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19291221 21 Dec 1929
VWL3978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19290905 5 September 1929
VWL3977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19290918 18 Sep 1929
VWL3976 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19560130 Jan 30th 1956
VWL3975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19580807 August 7th 1958.
VWL3974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams for Clarence Pinnock 19380502 May 2d 1938
VWL3973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Neville Cardus 1953---- 1953
VWL3972 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peggy Glanville-Hicks 19510207 7th February 1951
VWL3971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peggy Glanville-Hicks 19510119 Jan 19 [1951]
VWL3970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peggy Glanville-Hicks 194807-- Sunday [July 1948]
VWL3969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peggy Glanville-Hicks 1950---- August 29 [1950?]
VWL3968 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanley Bate 19471007 7 Oct 1927
VWL3967 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peggy Glanville-Hicks 194710-- [1947?]
VWL3966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1895---- [1895?]
VWL3965 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL3964 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520224 February 24th [1952]
VWL3963 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Thistleton 19370405 April 5 [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