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
VWL4532 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL2570 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Rutland (BBC) 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL3946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL5009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19480211 12 [i.e.11] February, 1948.
VWL2546 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480210 10th February, 1948
VWL4358 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480210 Feb 10 [1948]
VWL3947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19480205 5th February, 1948
VWL2545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19480129 29th January, 1948.
VWL3948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19480129 29th January, 1948.
VWL2543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480122 22nd. January, 1948
VWL2544 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480122 22nd January, 1948.
VWL2542 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480120 [20th January 1948]
VWL4529 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19480120 Jan 20 [1948?]
VWL2541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19480119 Jan 19 [1948]
VWL4655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19480115 [15 January 1948]
VWL2540 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480115 15th January, 1948.
VWL2538 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19480115 15th January, 1948.
VWL2532 Letter from from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480109 9th January, 1948.
VWL4027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19480108 [8 January 1948]
VWL2531 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bee Boeijinga 19480106 Jan 6th [1948]
VWL2514 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19480104 January 4 [1948]
VWL1836 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194801-- [January 1948]
VWL1767 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1948---- [later part of 1948]
VWL4683 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1948---- Friday [October 1948]
VWL2904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 1948---- Sunday [?1948 or later]
VWL3838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1948---- [1948?]
VWL1765 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 1948---- [1948]
VWL1766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 1948---- [?1948]
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL2511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19471227 December 27 [1947]

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