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
VWL5234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Hawkes 19320213 Feb 13 [1932?]
VWL5146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Janet Fraser 19470902 2nd September, 1947.
VWL4878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1950---- [ca 1950]
VWL4835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 194601-- [?January, 1946]
VWL4775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1949---- Sunday [1949?]
VWL4733 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 19500915 Sept 15 [early 1950s]
VWL4297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19551007 October 7th 1955.
VWL4217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19480822 Aug 22 [1948]
VWL4214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19460704 July 4 [1946]
VWL4169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560610 June 10th 1956.
VWL3782 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 19360517 May 17 [about 1936]
VWL3773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Stich[?] 1930---- Sept 21 [1930s?]
VWL3537 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19570811 August 11th 1957.
VWL3535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19570804 August 4th 1957.
VWL3457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561229 [29th December 1956]
VWL3417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19580119 January 19th 1958.
VWL3409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank 19560524 [24th May 1956]
VWL3407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3340 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Daily Telegraph 19580220 20th February 1958
VWL3337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Ellingford 19580223 February 23rd 1958.
VWL3333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19580226 February 26th 1958.
VWL3285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580616 [16 June 1958]
VWL3262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560130 Jan 30 [1956]
VWL3189 Letter from Herbert Byard to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19600427 27 April 1960
VWL2982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19490406 6th April, 1949.
VWL2973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL2853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19481124 [24 Nov 1948]
VWL2767 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19480610 10th June, 1948.
VWL2669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530318 18th March, 1953.
VWL2653 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530215 February 15th 1953.

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