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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
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]
VWL347 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19130801 [10 August 1913]
VWL4947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19130723 27th July, 1913.
VWL338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 191307-- [July 1913]
VWL4946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 191306-- June 1913
VWL4416 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130208 [8 February, 1913]
VWL386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19130122 [22 January 1913]
VWL4554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19130113 Jan 13th 1913,
VWL4298 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130113 [13 January, 1913]
VWL306 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1913---- [1913?]
VWL4950 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn 1913]
VWL4948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn 1913]
VWL4949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn 1913]
VWL4951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn/Winter 1913]
VWL4433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frances Cornford 1913---- [1913]
VWL4412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191208-- [August,1912]
VWL4945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19120710 [10 July, 1912]
VWL4494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19120603 [Jun 3 1912]
VWL383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19120530 May 30th [1912]
VWL337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191203-- [March 1912]
VWL380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19120119 Jan 19th [1912]
VWL381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19120118 [18th January 1912]
VWL379 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19120104 Jan 4th 1912
VWL4942 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19120101 1 Feb 12
VWL4413 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- [1912?]
VWL4944 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL4943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19111231 [31st December 1911]
VWL376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19111118 [About 18th November 1911]

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