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
VWL4913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194-1001 Oct 1st [1940s?]
VWL4914 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19390525 [mid May 1939]
VWL4915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified person 19410102 [Jan 2nd 1941]
VWL4916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19531225 Dec 25 [about 1953?]
VWL4917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194-1225 Xmas Day [late 1940s?]
VWL4919 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 194----- [1940s?]
VWL4920 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 193----- [1930s?]
VWL4921 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 19521012 [12 October 1952]
VWL4922 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 19531016 October 16, 1953
VWL4923 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 195102-- Thursday [February 1951]
VWL4924 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19140804 4 August, 1914
VWL4925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 191006-- [Summer, 1910]
VWL4926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Dexter Truscott 19250617 17/6/25
VWL4927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Dexter Truscott 192606-- June 1926
VWL4928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Kennedy 19371218 18 Dec 1937
VWL4929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Kennedy 19380116 16th January 1938
VWL4932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 191411-- [late November 1914]
VWL4933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 19140901 Sept 1st [1914]
VWL4934 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Leigh 19420603 June 3rd, 1942.
VWL4935 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19490511 May 11 [1949]
VWL4936 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1910---- [1910?]
VWL4938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1910--- [1910?]
VWL4939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1910---- [1910?]
VWL4940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110810 [inter 7-20 August 1911]
VWL4941 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110815 [inter 7-20 August 1911]
VWL4942 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19120101 1 Feb 12
VWL4943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL4944 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL4946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 191306-- June 1913
VWL4947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19130723 27th July, 1913.

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