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
VWL4901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193809-- [September 1938]
VWL4902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19361226 Dec 26 [1936?]
VWL4903 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [1935?]
VWL4904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19361215 Dec 15 [1936]
VWL4905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1937---- [late 1930s?]
VWL4906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193910-- [autumn 1939]
VWL4907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1940---- [about 1940]
VWL4908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1940---- Thursday [1940]
VWL4909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George M. Trevelyan 19560215 February 15th 1956
VWL4910 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1939---- [1939?]
VWL4911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194009-- [late September 1940]
VWL4912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194101-- [January 1941?]
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?]
VWL4918 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 193----- [1930s?]
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
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
VWL4930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 19140830 [end August 1914]
VWL4931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.J.L.J. Massé 191409-- [autumn 1914]

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