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
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
VWL5147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19341014 Oct 14th [1934]
VWL5146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Janet Fraser 19470902 2nd September, 1947.
VWL5145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary 19400321 March 21 [ca 1940]
VWL5144 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daphne 1940---- [ca 1940]
VWL5143 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Elkin 19510430 April 30 1951
VWL5142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified gentleman 19571020 20? October, 1957
VWL5141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis 19551130 [ca 1955]
VWL5140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Smith 19510221 21st February, 1951.
VWL5139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cranleigh Choral Society 19451102 Nov 2 [1945]
VWL5138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Rogers 1940---- [ca 1940]
VWL5137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Boyce 19550424 April 24th 1955
VWL5136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19211122 22/11/21
VWL5135 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Morning Post 19041004 4 October, 1904
VWL5134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Daily Chronicle 19060526 Saturday 26 May, 1906
VWL5133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19410315 15 March, 1941
VWL5132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Listener 19350320 [20 March, 1935]
VWL5131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Listener 19560809 [9 August, 1956]
VWL5129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Penguin Magazine 1947---- [1947]
VWL5128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19490508 May 8th [1949?]
VWL5127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olga Koussevitsky 19510707 7th July, 1951.
VWL5126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19480819 19th August 1948.
VWL5125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL5124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Serge Koussevitsky 1932---- [1932?]

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