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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL4863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19351102 Monday [2 November 1935]
VWL4894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530326 26th March, 1953.
VWL4902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19361226 Dec 26 [1936?]
VWL4908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1940---- Thursday [1940]
VWL4911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194009-- [late September 1940]
VWL4913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194-1001 Oct 1st [1940s?]
VWL1297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340914 [About 14th September 1934]
VWL1355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193407-- [late July 1934]
VWL655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193902-- [Early February 1939]
VWL3612 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310607 June 7, [ca 1931]
VWL3623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193612-- Dec. 1936
VWL3626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL3629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310614 June 14, [1931]
VWL3028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- Sunday [1934?]
VWL4791 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19250701 [early July 1925]
VWL4795 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1927---- [1927?]
VWL4799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1927---- [1927?]
VWL4800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192710-- [October 1927?]
VWL4814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1929---- [Spring 1929]
VWL4827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193404-- [April 1934]
VWL4829 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19341109 Nov 9 [1934?]
VWL4866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193508-- [August 1935]
VWL4867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19350620 [about 20 June 1935]
VWL4868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- [1934]
VWL4869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [1930s]
VWL4870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19360526 May 26 [1936]
VWL4897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193809-- [September 1938]
VWL4905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1937---- [late 1930s?]

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