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
VWL1839 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194303-- [March 1943]
VWL1752 Letter from Jean Stewart to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430218 18:2:43
VWL1739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major General Robert Lock 19430114 January 14 [1943]
VWL4674 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mrs Lock 19421025 October 25, [1942]
VWL1741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194208-- [?August 1942]
VWL1674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19420714 July 14 [1942]
VWL4676 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 194206-- Friday, [June, 1942]
VWL4881 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19420511 May 11 [1942]
VWL1613 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19411226 Christmas [1941]
VWL1552 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194111-- [Early November 1941]
VWL1577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19410815 Aug 15 [1941]
VWL1545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410701 July 1 [1940]
VWL1544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410630 30.6.41
VWL1477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19401214 [Dec 14th? '40]
VWL1501 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194010-- Sunday [Autumn 1940]
VWL1496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194008-- [1940]
VWL1648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194-0620 June 20th [194-?]
VWL1647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194-0619 Saturday [not long before 20 June 194-]
VWL5091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 194----- Nov 12 [1940s?]
VWL1453 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19390101 Jan 1st 1939
VWL4910 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1939---- [1939?]
VWL1302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380528 Sat [28th May 1938]
VWL649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193804-- [About April 1938]
VWL4639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380326 March 26 [1938]
VWL4929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Kennedy 19380116 16th January 1938
VWL521 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 1938---- [1938?]
VWL4928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Kennedy 19371218 18 Dec 1937
VWL644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193710-- [October 1937]

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