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
VWL2044 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460704 July 4 [1946?]
VWL2100 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460925 [25th September 1946]
VWL2103 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL2299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511128 28th November, 1951.
VWL616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19270502 [2nd May 1927]
VWL860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300708 [8th July 1930]
VWL861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300712 [12th July 1930]
VWL876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19301105 [5th November 1930]
VWL1379 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19400127 Jan 27 [1940]
VWL1536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19410516 [16th May 1941]
VWL1583 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19411102 Nov 2d [?1941]
VWL1647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194-0619 Saturday [not long before 20 June 194-]
VWL1653 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1945---- [?1945]
VWL1763 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL1801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430822 [22nd August 1943]
VWL1802 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430917 17.9.43
VWL1827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194711-- November, 1947
VWL2331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511218 18th December, 1951.
VWL2376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520312 12th March, 1952.
VWL2410 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520522 22nd May, 1952.
VWL2617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530122 January 22nd 1953.
VWL2648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530213 [13th February 1953]
VWL3043 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560111 January 11th 1956.
VWL3170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490714 14th July, 1949.
VWL4739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19391206 Dec 6th [1939]
VWL4742 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL4743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19490212 Feb 12 [1949?]
VWL4744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 194-1210 Dec 10 [1940s?]
VWL4748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL4749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19490324 24th March, 1949.

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