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
VWL427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19161205 Dec 5th l916
VWL426 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19161021 Saturday Oct 21st [1916]
VWL425 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye-Butterworth 19160904 Monday [4th?] Sept [1916]
VWL424 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye-Butterworth 19160816 Aug 16th [1916]
VWL4086 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19160802 Wednesday Aug 2nd [1916]
VWL352 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 191606-- [June 1916]
VWL353 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 191606-- [Late June 1916]
VWL4391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Claud Powell 19160502 2 May 16
VWL423 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Constance Machray 19160405 April 5th [1916]
VWL4076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Fisher 19160403 3 April 1916
VWL4299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191603-- [Spring 1916]
VWL4084 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1916---- [1916]
VWL4833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19150808 Aug 8th 1915
VWL4293 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19150630 June 30th, [1915]
VWL4291 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191506-- [May or June, 1915]
VWL4290 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19150515 May 19 [1915]
VWL4305 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191505-- Sunday [May 1915]
VWL422 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19150424 [24 May 1915]
VWL4318 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19150331 March 31 [1915]
VWL421 Letter from Charles Hubert Parry to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19150119 Jany 19. 1915
VWL4718 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Pitt 1915---- [c.1915-1916]
VWL3013 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Piper 1915---- [1915]
VWL4108 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Dearmer 19141211 Dec. 11 14
VWL4317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191412-- [December, 1914]
VWL420 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Special Constabulary Chelsea Company 19141124 Nov 24th [1914]
VWL414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141101 Nov 1st [1914]
VWL4932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 191411-- [late November 1914]
VWL351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191411-- [November 1914]
VWL415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141024 [24th October 1914]
VWL4316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19141013 13 October, 1914

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