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
VWL1021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19321115 [15 November 1932]
VWL1020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321113 [About 13th November 1932]
VWL4820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1932---- [1932?]
VWL896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310104 [4th January 1931]
VWL3626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL676 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19290623 Sunday [23 June 1929]
VWL4811 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19281207 [7 December 1928]
VWL4801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192812-- [December, late 1920s]
VWL4810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19280702 [2 July 1928]
VWL4804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19280203 [3 February 1928]
VWL4807 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1928---- [1928]
VWL4799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1927---- [1927?]
VWL4790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19261116 [16 November 1926]
VWL605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Lock Burnaby 19260527 May 27 [1926]
VWL598 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19260112 12 January 1926
VWL597 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19260108 [8th January 1926]
VWL4791 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19250701 [early July 1925]
VWL4789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19250627 [late June 1925]
VWL4770 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19250131 [31 January 1925]
VWL539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19231231 Dec 31.[1923]
VWL536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Lock Burnaby 19231117 17/11/23
VWL515 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19230415 15.4.23
VWL771 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Newton 192210-- [October 1922]
VWL775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Newton 192210-- [October 1922]
VWL755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Newton 192011-- [About November 1920?]
VWL341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19130609 June 9th [1913]
VWL305 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 1911---- [1911]
VWL150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 190705-- [After April, 1907]
VWL147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 190611-- Wed [November 1906]
VWL149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Folk Song Society 190611-- [?November 1906]

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