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
VWL4495 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19390501 May 1 [1939]
VWL4520 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440314 March 14 [1944]
VWL4522 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19441226 December 26 [1944]
VWL4525 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1946-- [November, 1946]
VWL4533 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19491223 December 23 [1949]
VWL4534 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19480501 May 1 [1948?]
VWL4536 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19501011 October 11, [1950]
VWL4539 Letter from Ralph and Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joyce Finzi 19510221 Feb 21 [1951]
VWL4553 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19130825 August 25 [1913?]
VWL4594 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19230427 Friday [27 April 1923]
VWL4597 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19220712 Wednesday [12 July 1922]
VWL4602 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19321226 Monday [26 December 1932]
VWL4625 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19340622 Friday [22 June 1934]
VWL4668 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19451106 Tueday [Nov 6 1945]
VWL4669 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19411127 Nov 27 [1941]
VWL4670 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19400327 Wednesday [March 27 1940]
VWL4671 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1945---- Monday [1945]
VWL4672 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460105 Saturday night [5.1.46]
VWL4674 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mrs Lock 19421025 October 25, [1942]
VWL4675 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19420105 Monday night, [5 January, 1942]
VWL4676 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 194206-- Friday, [June, 1942]
VWL4678 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19461206 Friday [Dec 6 1946]
VWL4679 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460801 Thursday morning [1 August 1946]
VWL4680 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19461107 Thursday [7.11.46]
VWL4681 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19470329 Wednesday [March 29 1947]
VWL4682 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19480525 Thursday [May 25 1948]
VWL4683 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1948---- Friday [October 1948]
VWL4684 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1950---- Thursday [1950]
VWL4685 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19500914 Thursday [September 14 1950]
VWL4704 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Page 19510202 2 Feb 1951

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