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
VWL4271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19511227 Dec 27 [1951]
VWL4270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 1955---- [about 1955?]
VWL4269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Genia Hornstein 19511105 Nov 5 [1951?]
VWL4268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19580704 July 4 1958
VWL4267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19570927 Sept 27 1957
VWL4266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19571013 13 Oct 1957
VWL4265 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Molly Imlach 19571018 18 Oct 1957
VWL4264 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hornstein 19561230 Dec 30 1956 [?]
VWL4263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19370111 January 11 [1937?]
VWL4262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19361026 October 26 [1936]
VWL4261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19361129 Nov 29 [1936?]
VWL4259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 193608-- [1936?]
VWL4258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19360802 August 2 [1936]
VWL4257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19360619 June 19 [1936]
VWL4256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19370119 Jan 19th [1937?]
VWL4255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Florent Schmitt 191402-- [late February, 1914]
VWL4254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19580817 [August, 1958]
VWL4253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19580819 August 19th 1958.
VWL4252 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570817 August 17th [1958]
VWL4251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19580727 July 27th. 1958
VWL4250 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19580226 February 26th [1958]
VWL4249 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195710-- [inter September-December, 1957]
VWL4248 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mr Martin Shaw 19570905 Tuesday [3 September, 1957]
VWL4247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560703 July 3rd 1956.
VWL4246 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560620 June 20th 1956
VWL4245 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530617 June 17th [1953]
VWL4244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19500506 May 6th 1956.
VWL4243 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19580601 June 1st. [1958]
VWL4242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560301 March 1st 1956.
VWL4241 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560115 January 15th 1956.

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