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
VWL265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980718 18 July 1898
VWL297 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980704 July 4th [1898]
VWL262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 18980626 Sunday [26 June 1898]
VWL295 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980530 30th May [1898]
VWL294 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980504 4th May 1898
VWL258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 189805-- [?May 1898]
VWL259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 189805-- [May 1898]
VWL260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189805-- [May or June 1898]
VWL4454 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980421 April 21st [1898]
VWL292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980409 9th April 1898
VWL293 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 18980409 April 9th [1898]
VWL4453 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980403 Sunday [3 April] 1898
VWL291 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980402 2 April 1898
VWL290 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980328 [28 March 1898]
VWL289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980303 [3] March 1898
VWL202 Letter from Max Bruch to Ralph Vaughan Williams 18980205 5 February 1898
VWL201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189802-- [February 1898]
VWL230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1898---- [1898?]
VWL234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1898---- [1898?]
VWL231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1898---- [Late 1898]
VWL235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1898---- [1898?]
VWL4458 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1898---- Tuesday [early summer 1898?]
VWL232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1898---- [?Late1898 (or early 1899)]
VWL257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189712-- [December 1897?]
VWL288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 18971129 29.XI.97
VWL256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189711-- XI.97
VWL287 Letter from Max Bruch to Ralph Vaughan Williams 18971031 31.10.97
VWL286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971027 October 27, l897
VWL285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 18971015 [Mid October 1897]
VWL284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971013 Wednesday, October 13 1897

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