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
VWL5056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19510730 [Monday July 30 1951]
VWL5055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19360818 August 18 [1936]
VWL5052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams, Myra Hess, Albert Sammons and Lionel Tertis to the Editor of The Times 19470522 [Thursday May 22 1947]
VWL5051 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams, Adrian Boult and others to the Editor of The Times 19500220 February 20 [1950]
VWL4906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193910-- [autumn 1939]
VWL3530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19570423 [23 April, 1957]
VWL2160 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510108 8 Jan 1951
VWL2133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19501220 20th December, 1950.
VWL2122 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19501208 8.12.50
VWL1960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 1944---- [1943 or 1944]
VWL1957 Letter from Michael Tippett to Ralph Vaughan Williams 194401-- Sat [?January 1944]
VWL1870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19450110 Jan 10 [1945]
VWL1831 Letter from A.H. Fox-Strangways to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19431225 Xmas 1943
VWL1813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James W. Welch (BBC) 19431023 [23 Oct 1943]
VWL1810 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19431015 October 15 [1943]
VWL1624 Letter from R.O.Morris to Alice Sumsion 19420103 Jan 3 1942
VWL1623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the editor of Civil Liberty 19411231 Dec 31 1941
VWL1606 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Tippett 19411217 Dec 17 [1941]
VWL1490 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [Early July 1940]
VWL1486 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194004-- [April 1940]
VWL1442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19401004 Oct 4th [1940]
VWL1418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19400511 May 11th [1940?]
VWL1378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381004 [4th October 1938]
VWL1355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193407-- [late July 1934]
VWL1225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390918 [18 September 1939]
VWL446 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19181212 12.12.18
VWL445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19181116 Nov. 16th [1918?]
VWL444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19180608 8/6/18
VWL443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Turner 19180511 May 11th [1918]
VWL442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19180503 May 3rd [1918]

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