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.

Searching:
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
VWL5291 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Grainger 19530607 June 7th 1953.
VWL5292 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Percy Grainger 19490903 September 3 [1949]
VWL5293 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Percy Grainger 19580606 June 6th [1958?]
VWL5294 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Percy Grainger 19580527 May 27th 1958
VWL5295 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19481031 Oct 31, 1948
VWL5296 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Curle 19080518 [about 18 May 1908]
VWL5297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Curle 19080707 7th July [1908]
VWL5298 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Curle 19100908 [8 September 1910]
VWL5299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Desmond Shawe-Taylor 19481220 20th December 1948
VWL5300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Bell, Bishop of Chichester 19350130 January 30 [1935]
VWL5301 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Bell, Bishop of Chichester 19350215 Feb 15 [1935]
VWL5302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Bell, Bishop of Chichester 19550505 May 5th 1955.
VWL5303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Bell, Bishop of Chichester 19550512 May 12th 1955.
VWL5304 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Annette Heilbronn 19471017 Oct 17 [1947]
VWL5307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Kahn 19471126 26th November, 1947.
VWL5308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Kahn 19500322 22nd. March, 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