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
VWL3152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490817 17th August, 1949.
VWL3151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Vercoe 19490824 24th August, 1949
VWL3150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19490909 [9th September 1949]
VWL3149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy & Gerald Finzi 19490911 [11th September 1949]
VWL3148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19490914 14th September, 1949.
VWL3147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.M. Tillett 19490914 14th September, 1949
VWL3146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Tillett 19490919 Sept 19, 1949
VWL3145 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19490927 27th September, 1949.
VWL3144 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19490928 September 28th, 1949.
VWL3143 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19490928 September 28th, 1949.
VWL3142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Tottenham 1920---- [between 1905-1929]
VWL3141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Felix Borowski 19530311 11th March, 1953
VWL3140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19491020 Oct 20 [1949]
VWL3139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491002 Oct 2nd [?1949]
VWL3138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19491005 5th October, 1949.
VWL3137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Isidore Schwiller 19491013 Oct 13 [1949]
VWL3136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19491013 13th October, 1949.
VWL3135 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19491013 Thursday [Oct 13/49.]
VWL3134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19491013 13th October, 1949.
VWL3133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Del Mar 19491013 13th October, 1949.
VWL3132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19491018 Tuesday [18th October 1949]
VWL3131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491019 19th October 1949
VWL3130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19491025 Oct 25 [1949]
VWL3129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550810 [August 10 1955]
VWL3128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550808 August 8th 1955.
VWL3127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19491025 Oct 25 [1949]
VWL3126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19510521 [21 May 1951]
VWL3125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19491030 Sunday [30th October 1949]
VWL3124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19491030 [30th October 1949?]
VWL3123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19491101 [About 1 November 1949]

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