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
VWL2487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19521012 October 12th, 1952
VWL2485 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Sunday Times 19521220 20th December 1952
VWL2479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19521005 Oct 5th [1952]
VWL2474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Beryl Lock 19520925 Monday [?25th September 1952]
VWL2471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520921 21. September 1952.
VWL2469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520917 Sept 17 [1952]
VWL2468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19520917 17th September, 1952
VWL2463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19520827 27th August, 1952.
VWL2458 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19520809 August 9th 1952.
VWL2456 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520803 August 3rd 1952.
VWL2455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19520730 30th July, 1952.
VWL2451 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Johnston (BBC) 19520719 July 19 [1952]
VWL2450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19520716 July 16 [1952]
VWL2447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520706 July 6 [1952]
VWL2445 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520703 3 July, 1952
VWL2444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19520702 2nd. July, 1952.
VWL2443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520630 June 30th 1952.
VWL2436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19471211 11th December, 1947.
VWL2435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isolde Menges 19471211 Dec 11 [1947]
VWL2430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19471203 Dec 3 [1947]
VWL2429 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19520606 June 6 [1952]
VWL2427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19520606 6.6.52
VWL2426 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520605 June 5 [1952]
VWL2425 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520603 June 3rd 1952.
VWL2422 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19520528 28th [?] May, 1952
VWL2420 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19471125 Nov 25 [1947]
VWL2419 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19471125 Nov 25 [1947]
VWL2418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 193----- [early 1930s]
VWL2417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19471120 20th November, 1947.
VWL2413 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19520625 25th June 1952

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