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
VWL5262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernst Roth 19561117 November 17th 1956
VWL5098 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19580828 Thursday [28 August 1958]
VWL4958 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19470706 July 6 [1947]
VWL4311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Phyllis Tate 19350330 30 March 1935
VWL4220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540702 July 2nd 1954.
VWL4210 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540118 January 18th 1954.
VWL4078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19550901 September 1st 1955.
VWL4052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Scull at the Performing Right Society 19530130 30th January, 1953.
VWL3618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19481216 16th December 1948
VWL3609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Burghes (OUP) 19320925 September 25 1932
VWL3308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580408 April 8th 1958.
VWL3294 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19560219 February 19th 1956.
VWL3222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19551113 November 13th 1955.
VWL3186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL3009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Gurney 195505-- [May 1955]
VWL3008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Gurney 19550517 May 17th 1955.
VWL2993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19550130 January 30th 1955
VWL2977 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490330 March 30 [1949]
VWL2851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481118 18th November, 1948.
VWL2842 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540708 July 8th 1954.
VWL2808 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540328 March 28th 1954.
VWL2728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19531005 October 5th [1953]
VWL2726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530930 Sept 30 [1953]
VWL2724 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19530924 September 24th 1953.
VWL2680 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530422 April 22nd 1953
VWL2533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19521031 Oct 31 [1952]
VWL2388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520403 3rd April 1952
VWL2349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520109 9th January, 1952.
VWL2071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19500809 9th August, 1950

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