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
VWL5167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Travers 19520511 May 11 1952
VWL1408 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Townsend 19381115 Nov 12 [1938]
VWL1498 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Townsend 194009-- [September 1940 ]
VWL1443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Townsend 19381118 [About 18th November 1938]
VWL3142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Tottenham 1920---- [between 1905-1929]
VWL4711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Thackeray 19400831 Aug 31 1940
VWL4548 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Simpson 19510527 May 27 [1951]
VWL5030 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Seymour-Whingates 19430906 Sept 6 [1943]
VWL3010 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Scott 194----- [1940s?]
VWL4573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Schneeweiss 1942---- Sept 28 [1942]
VWL3489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Roberts 19570509 May 9th 1957
VWL3521 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Roberts 19570603 June 3rd 1957
VWL4563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Ricketts 19480423 23rd. April, 1948.
VWL5272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Ramsay 19360208 February 8 [1936?]
VWL4069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420808 Aug 8th [1942]
VWL4061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194107-- [July] 1941
VWL4065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420413 April 13 [1942]
VWL4066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420424 April 24 [1942]
VWL4060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19410711 July 11 1941
VWL4071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 1941---- [1941?]
VWL4067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194204-- [April] 1942
VWL4070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 1942---- [1942]
VWL4072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19440921 21 Sept 1944
VWL4068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194206-- [June] 1942
VWL2800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Molony (BBC) 19540317 March 17th 1954.
VWL1706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19421015 Oct 15 [1942]
VWL1461 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19401017 Oct 17 [1940]
VWL1619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19391025 Oct 25 [1939]
VWL1145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 1930---- [1930s?]
VWL2086 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Leslie (BBC) 19500920 Sep 20 [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