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
VWL4394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Goodrich 191405-- [May 1914]
VWL399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19140415 15th April 1914
VWL398 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19140406 April 6th [1914]
VWL397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19140404 [About 4th April 1914]
VWL396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140401 [About 1st April 1914]
VWL3958 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140329 Sunday [29 March, 1914]
VWL393 Letter from Gervase Elwes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140328 March 28th l914
VWL395 Letter from George Butterworth to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140328 March 28 1914
VWL394 Letter from Steuart Wilson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140328 28th March l914
VWL346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19140214 [14th February 1914]
VWL392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Athelstan Riley 19140211 February 11 1914
VWL4255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Florent Schmitt 191402-- [February, 1914]
VWL4301 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191402-- Friday [February, 1914]
VWL345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191401-- [Jan 1914?]
VWL4419 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191401-- Friday, [January, 1914]
VWL4306 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1914---- Saturday [late 1914]
VWL4384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1914---- [1914?]
VWL4304 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1914---- Monday, [late 1914]
VWL4307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1914---- [late 1914?]
VWL4303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1914--- [4 January, 1914]
VWL391 Letter from the Moravian Church Agency to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19131231 Dec. 31st 1913
VWL343 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19131230 [About 30th] Dec. 1913
VWL4302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19131222 22 December, 1913
VWL4952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19131221 21 Dec., 1913
VWL342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19131219 Dec 19th 1913
VWL390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19131205 Dec. 5 [1913]
VWL389 Letter from Cecil Sharp to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19131109 9.11.13.
VWL388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 19131103 [About 3 November 1913]
VWL339 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 191311-- [late November 1913]
VWL4418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130925 [25 September, 1913]

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