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
VWL1203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederic Wilkinson 19370811 August 11th 1937
VWL1201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19370806 Aug 6th 1937
VWL1170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL4326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL4988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19370801 between 29 July and 10 August 1937
VWL3017 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 193708-- [August 1937?]
VWL3810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370728 July 28 [1937]
VWL1200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370728 [28th July 1937]
VWL1190 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370725 Sunday [25th July 1937]
VWL3811 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370722 July 22 [1937]
VWL3016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370722 22 July [1937]
VWL3816 Letter from Tamplin & Co. to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370714 14th July, 1937.
VWL1189 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19370712 July 12 [1937]
VWL1169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370711 July 11 1937
VWL4989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19370709 July 9th [1937]
VWL1188 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370708 July 8 [1937?]
VWL3812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370706 July 4th [1937]
VWL552 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193707-- [Mid 1937]
VWL642 Letter from H.G. Fiedler to Ralph Vaughan Williams 193707-- [July 1937]
VWL643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hermann Fiedler 193707-- [July 1937]
VWL3023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370601 June 1 [1937]
VWL5155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 193706-- Sunday [summer 1937]
VWL5156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19370526 May 26th [late 1930s?]
VWL1168 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370514 Friday [14th May 1937]
VWL4873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19370506 [6 May 1937]
VWL1176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19370503 Monday [3rd May 1937]
VWL592 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christian Darnton 193705-- [May 1937?]
VWL1175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370427 April 27 [1937]
VWL3997 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louise Dyer 19370419 April 19 [1937]
VWL1174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19370414 [14 April 1937]

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