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
VWL2818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lyle Dowling 19540508 May 8th 1954.
VWL2817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540508 8.5.45
VWL2808 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540328 March 28th 1954.
VWL2798 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL2795 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540228 February 28th [1954]
VWL2793 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540222 February 22nd [1954]
VWL2789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540221 [21 February 1954]
VWL2784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL2781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480805 5th August, 1948.
VWL2779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480723 23rd July, 1948.
VWL2778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480716 July 16 [1948]
VWL2775 Letter from Alan Frank (OUP) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480712 12th July l948
VWL2769 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480617 17th June, 1948.
VWL2765 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480603 3rd June, 1948.
VWL2757 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540122 January 22nd 1954.
VWL2750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540103 January 3rd 1954.
VWL2739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531122 November 22nd 1953.
VWL2727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530930 September 30th 1953.
VWL2725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530927 September 27th 1953.
VWL2712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530822 August 22nd 1953.
VWL2707 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530731 [On or about 31st July 1953]
VWL2704 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530711 July 11th 1953
VWL2700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530703 July 3rd 1953.
VWL2699 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530628 June 28th 1953.
VWL2696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530621 June 21st 1953.
VWL2692 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530613 June 13th 1953.
VWL2686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530525 May 25th. 1953.
VWL2685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530520 20th May, 1953.
VWL2678 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530415 15th April, l953.
VWL2674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19530330 March 30 [1953]

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