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
VWL3487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Fiske (BBC) 19570504 May 4th 1957.
VWL3339 Letter from Charles Parker to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580221 21st February 1958
VWL3336 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.D. Kennedy-Bell 19580223 February 23rd 1958.
VWL3334 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Parker 19580226 February 26th 1958.
VWL3331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Fiske (BBC) 19580302 March 2nd 1958.
VWL3261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Howgill (BBC) 19560129 January 29th 1956
VWL3217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Fiske (BBC) 19551108 November 8th 1955.
VWL3175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19490622 22nd June, 1949.
VWL3171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL3143 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19490928 September 28th, 1949.
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?]
VWL3077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19491116 16th November, 1949.
VWL3059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stanford Robinson (BBC) 19491123 23rd November, 1949.
VWL2859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Howgill (BBC) 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL2840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Fiske 19540702 July 2nd 1954.
VWL2812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe (BBC) 19540331 March 31st 1954.
VWL2811 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe (BBC) 19540328 March 28th 1954.
VWL2800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Molony (BBC) 19540317 March 17th 1954.
VWL2785 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Steuart Wilson (BBC) 19480812 12th August, 1948.
VWL2589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Music Librarian (BBC) 19480414 14th April, 1948.
VWL2588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett 19480413 April 13 [1948]
VWL2587 Letter from Gwen Beckett (BBC) to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480413 13th April 1948.
VWL2586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19480402 2nd April, 1948.
VWL2570 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Rutland (BBC) 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL2513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Beckett (BBC) 19471227 27th December, 1947.
VWL2475 “The Stanford Centenary” BBC talk by Vaughan Williams 19520930 Recorded: 13.8.52
VWL2451 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Johnston (BBC) 19520719 July 19 [1952]
VWL2414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to R.C. Walton (BBC) 19520522 22nd. May, 1952.
VWL2342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe (BBC) 19470820 20th August, 1947.

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