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.

Searching:
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
VWL4803 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1928--- [late 1920s]
VWL626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19271226 [26th December 1927]
VWL625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271202 [2 December 1927]
VWL624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271118 Nov 18 [1927]
VWL623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19271108 Nov 8th [1927]
VWL4134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192711-- [?November, 1927]
VWL622 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19271009 [9th October 1927]
VWL814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19271001 [October 1927]
VWL4701 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19271001 [late September/early October 1927]
VWL4800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192710-- [October 1927?]
VWL4699 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270926 September 26 1927
VWL620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 Sep 23 [1927]
VWL621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 [23rd September 1927]
VWL619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270818 [18th August 1927]
VWL618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270801 [Early August 1927]
VWL815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 192708-- [August 1927]
VWL4697 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270729 July 29 [1927]
VWL617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270726 July 26th [1927]
VWL4096 Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19270712 12th July, 1927.
VWL4077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19270708 July 8 [1927]
VWL796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19270701 [July 1927]
VWL795 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 192707-- [July 1927]
VWL4011 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19270529 Sunday [29 May 1927]
VWL4009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19270503 May 2 [1927]
VWL616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19270502 [2nd May 1927]
VWL615 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19270401 [1st April 1927]
VWL614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19270324 [24th March 1927]
VWL468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald F. Tovey 19270303 March 3 [1927]
VWL602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hugh Allen 19270303 March 3 [1926]
VWL3251 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 192703-- Wednesday [March 1927?]

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