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
VWL542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501201 [4 Dec 1950]
VWL120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1899---- [1899?]
VWL261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189905-- [May 1899]
VWL211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19061010 [10th October 1906]
VWL257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189712-- [December 1897?]
VWL138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190603-- [?March 1906]
VWL4492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19090115 [15 January 1909]
VWL438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Dorothea Butterworth 19180216 Saturday [?16th February 1918]
VWL2421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19471126 26th November, 1947.
VWL923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310712 July 12 [1931]
VWL233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 189903-- [March 1899]
VWL158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190801-- [January 1908]
VWL3132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19491018 Tuesday [18th October 1949]
VWL1060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19330707 July 7 [1933]
VWL4126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19420510 May 10 [1942]
VWL4539 Letter from Ralph and Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joyce Finzi 19510221 Feb 21 [1951]
VWL4362 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480907 September 7 [1948]
VWL4368 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490722 July 22 [1949]
VWL4370 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490903 September 3 [1949]
VWL4373 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19491028 October 28 [1949]
VWL3770 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480523 May 23 1948
VWL4359 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19471029 October 29 [1947]
VWL4360 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19471206 December 6 [1947]
VWL4363 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490128 Jan 28 [1949]
VWL4358 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480210 Feb 10 [1948]
VWL4364 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490505 May 5 [1949]
VWL4365 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490607 June 7 [1949]
VWL4378 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500815 August 15 [1950]
VWL4379 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501226 Dec 26 [1950]
VWL3771 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19490421 April 21 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