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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL2963 Verse to Gerald Finzi [by Finzi] 195408-- [August 1954]
VWL790 Note from Cecil Sharp [to Ralph Vaughan Williams] 192405-- [Written before June 1924]
VWL2964 Lines by Gerald Finzi 195408-- [August 1954]
VWL1196 Letter from William H. Reed to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19340503 3/5/34
VWL1238 Letter from William H. Reed to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19340503 3/5/34
VWL785 Letter from Walter Damrosch to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350919 September 19, 1935.
VWL507 Letter from Vally Lasker to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19230308 March 8th 23
VWL2848 Letter from Ursula Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19481026 Tuesday [26 October 1948]
VWL2340 Letter from Ursula Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 195104-- [mid April 1951]
VWL1782 Letter from Ursula Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 194710-- [October 1947]
VWL222 Letter from Thomas Hardy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19081129 Nov. 29. 1908
VWL2880 Letter from the Secretary of Yale University to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19541027 October 27, l954
VWL391 Letter from the Moravian Church Agency to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19131231 Dec. 31st 1913
VWL3416 Letter from the administrator of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580120 20th January, 1958.
VWL2486 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521011 Oct. 11. 1952
VWL344 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19421109 9 Nov. 1942
VWL1232 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19340402 Ap.2nd 1934
VWL394 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140328 28th March l914
VWL936 Letter from Sir William Rothenstein to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19360314 [on or before 14th March 1936]
VWL1381 Letter from Sir Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19381007 October 7th 1938
VWL1275 Letter from Sir Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19380125 25th January 1938.
VWL3108 Letter from Sir Arthur Penn to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550804 August 4th. 1955.
VWL2638 Letter from Sidney P. Waddington to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530203 3/2/53
VWL2783 Letter from Serge Koussevitzky to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480810 August 10, 1948
VWL2446 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521014 [14 Oct 1952]
VWL2160 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510108 8 Jan 1951
VWL2445 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520703 3 July, 1952
VWL3545 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19570903 3.9.57 at 4 a.m.
VWL2122 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19501208 8.12.50
VWL3420 Letter from Rutland Boughton to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580109 9.1.58

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