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
VWL5295 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19481031 Oct 31, 1948
VWL5257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Abraham 19410113 January 13, 1941
VWL5228 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Saturday [1903]
VWL5227 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Tuesday [1903]
VWL5226 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Monday [1903]
VWL5032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19461020 Oct 20 [1946]
VWL4627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 193511-- [November 1935]
VWL4427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19501002 2nd October 1950.
VWL4117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hal Burton 19510221 21st. February, 1951.
VWL4010 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19311126 November 26th, 1931.
VWL3948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19480129 29th January, 1948.
VWL3947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19480205 5th February, 1948
VWL3946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL3904 Letter from Olin Downes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530818 August 18, 1953
VWL3898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL3858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193----- [1930s?]
VWL3463 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570208 February 8th [1957]
VWL3461 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570126 January 26th 1957.
VWL3298 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580522 May 22nd [1958]
VWL3287 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580612 [12 June 1958]
VWL3285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580616 [16 June 1958]
VWL3002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Butterworth 19490525 25th May, 1949
VWL2950 Foreword from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Society for the Promotion of New Music 195403-- [About March 1954]
VWL2865 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19540902 September 2nd 1954.
VWL2843 Letter from John Warrack to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19540713 13th July 1954
VWL2785 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Steuart Wilson (BBC) 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL2475 “The Stanford Centenary” BBC talk by Vaughan Williams 19520930 Recorded: 13.8.52
VWL2445 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520703 3 July, 1952
VWL2441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19520625 25th June, 1952.
VWL2127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460927 [27th September 1946]

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