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
VWL1550 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Blech 194109-- Thurs [mid-1941]
VWL4062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194109-- [September] 1941
VWL1549 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194109-- [After 4th September 1941]
VWL1578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19410831 Aug 31 [1941]
VWL980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19410821 Aug 21 [?1941]
VWL1577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19410815 Aug 15 [1941]
VWL1575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19410814 Aug l4th [1941]
VWL1553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410803 Aug 3rd [?1941]
VWL697 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194108-- [August 1941?]
VWL4060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19410711 July 11 1941
VWL1545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410701 July 1 [1940]
VWL1546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194107-- [July 1941]
VWL4061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194107-- [July] 1941
VWL1544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410630 30.6.41
VWL1671 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19410627 June 27 [1941]
VWL1543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Farjeon 19410627 June 27 [c.1941]
VWL1542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19410624 June 24 [?1941]
VWL3679 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19410623 June 23 [1941]
VWL4664 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Plomer 19410622 June 22 1941
VWL1540 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410615 Sunday [15th June 1941]
VWL1541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19410615 June 15 [1941?]
VWL1539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410613 June 13 [1941]
VWL1538 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Drew 19410605 June 5 [1941]
VWL4510 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19410521 May 21 [1941?]
VWL1537 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lord Kennet 19410520 May 20th, 1941.
VWL1536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19410516 [16th May 1941]
VWL4509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19410515 May 15 [1941?]
VWL1535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19410511 Sunday [11th May 1941]
VWL1534 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410508 8.5.41
VWL1533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410504 Sunday [4th May 1941]

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