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
VWL1923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19440730 July 30 [1944]
VWL1919 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Keynes 19440603 June 3 [1944]
VWL1918 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert & Bessie Trevelyan 19440602 June 2d [1944]
VWL1917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440531 May 31 [1944]
VWL1916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19440522 May 22 [1944]
VWL1915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Mü̈ller-Hartmann 19440516 May 16th [1944]
VWL1914 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19440510 10th May [1944]
VWL1913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19440514 May 14 [1944]
VWL1912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Churchwarden, Dorking Parish Church 19440504 May 4th 1944
VWL1909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440329 March 29 [1944]
VWL1904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19440303 March 3 [1944]
VWL1903 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19440319 [19 March 1944]
VWL1896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19450721 July 21 [1945]
VWL1893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19510707 Saturday [?7th July 1951]
VWL1887 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19450509 Wednesday [May 9 1945]
VWL1886 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denys Kilham Roberts 19450429 April 29 [1945]
VWL1885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denys Kilham Roberts 19450416 16th April [1945]
VWL1883 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19490328 Wednesday [?28 March 1949]
VWL1882 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19490317 March 17 [1949]
VWL1881 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denys Kilham Roberts 19450617 June 17 [1945]
VWL1880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Leonard Starey 19450315 [c.15th March 1945]
VWL1876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denys Kilham Roberts 19450304 4th March [1945]
VWL1875 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eugene Kilinski 19450225 Feb 25 1945
VWL1873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Henn Collins 19450211 Feb 11 [1945]
VWL1871 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450201 Feb 1 [1945]
VWL1870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19450110 Jan 10 [1945]
VWL1869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19450104 Jan 4th [1945]
VWL1868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19440229 Feb 29 [1944 ] (eve of Leap year!!!)
VWL1867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440225 Feb 25 [1944]
VWL1862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19440205 Feb 5. [1944]

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