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
VWL2506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19471218 18th December, 1947.
VWL2478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19521001 1st October, 1952.
VWL2469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520917 Sept 17 [1952]
VWL2465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520909 September 9th [1952]
VWL2462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19520827 27th August, 1952.
VWL2459 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520809 August 9th 1952.
VWL2447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520706 July 6 [1952]
VWL2442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520625 25th June, 1952.
VWL2437 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520621 June 21st 1952.
VWL2428 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520621 June 21st 1952.
VWL2424 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520603 June 3rd 1952.
VWL2417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19471120 20th November, 1947.
VWL2416 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520525 May 25th 1952
VWL2415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520524 May 24th 1952
VWL2411 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.S. May (OUP) 19520522 22nd. May, 1952.
VWL2408 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520510 May 10th 1952.
VWL2394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520410 April 10 [1952]
VWL2392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520409 9th April, 1952.
VWL2388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520403 3rd April 1952
VWL2372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520227 27th February, 1952
VWL2368 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520220 20th February, 1952
VWL2367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520219 Feb 19 [1952]
VWL2357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19520116 16th January, 1952.
VWL2348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520102 2nd. January, 1952.
VWL2318 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470909 9th September, 1947.
VWL2317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470820 20th August, 1947.
VWL2305 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470704 July 4th [1947]
VWL2304 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470703 3rd July, 1947.
VWL2302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470626 June 26 1947
VWL2298 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19511121 November 21st., 1951.

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