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
VWL3456 Letter from Michael Tippett to Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams 19561229 29th Dec. 1956
VWL3435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19561016 October 16th 1956.
VWL3415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL3252 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19270208 Tuesday [8 Feb 1927]
VWL3251 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 192703-- Wednesday [March 1927?]
VWL3245 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19360821 August 21 [1936?]
VWL3244 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 1935---- August 22 [1935?]
VWL3242 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19221115 [Wednesday 15 Nov 1922]
VWL3216 Letter from Patrick Hadley to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19551106 6 Nov. ‘55
VWL3184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL3183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL3172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL3171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL3170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490714 14th July, 1949.
VWL3114 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491109 9th November, 1949
VWL3101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19550701 July 1st 1955.
VWL3099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clifford Gillam (Arnold Bax Society) 19550629 June 29th 1955.
VWL3079 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Tressider Sheppard, Provost of King’s College Cambridge 19491116 16th November, 1949
VWL3078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491116 November 16 [1949]
VWL3073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550327 March 27th 1955.
VWL3062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491123 November 23 [1949]
VWL3058 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Tressider Sheppard, Provost of King’s College Cambridge 19491125 November 25 [1949]
VWL3054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.M. Martin 19491228 28th December, 1949
VWL3051 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor Arthur Hutchings 19481029 October 29 [1948]
VWL3026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19390113 [13 Jan 1939]
VWL3009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Gurney 195505-- [May 1955]
VWL3008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Gurney 19550517 May 17th 1955.
VWL2992 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Luther Noss 19550124 January 24th 1955
VWL2895 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Genia Hornstein 1942---- Friday [?1942 or later]
VWL2838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19481022 Oct 22/48

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