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
VWL172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 190910-- [October 1909]
VWL168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19090903 Sept 3rd [1909]
VWL169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McNaught 190909-- [September, 1909]
VWL173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 190909-- [October 1909]
VWL225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19090826 [26th August 1909]
VWL167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190908-- [About August 1909]
VWL223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McNaught 19090722 [22 July 1909]
VWL170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McNaught 19090624 June 24th [1909]
VWL224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Darwin 19090611 June 11th [1909]
VWL4396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evangeline Farrer 19090609 9 Juin 1909
VWL166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 19090403 Sat. [April 3 1909]
VWL204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19090320 [20th March 1909]
VWL4492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19090115 [15 January 1909]
VWL165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 190901-- [January 1909]
VWL164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ruth Charrington 190901-- [January 1909]
VWL123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1909---- [1909?]
VWL4493 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 1909---- [1909?]
VWL124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 1909---- [1909]
VWL222 Letter from Thomas Hardy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19081129 Nov. 29. 1908
VWL221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19081111 Nov 11th [1908]
VWL163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 190811-- [November 1908]
VWL4395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evangeline Farrer 19080707 July 7th [1908]
VWL162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190803-- [Early March 1908]
VWL161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190803-- [Early March 1908]
VWL158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190801-- [January 1908]
VWL159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190801-- [?January 1908]
VWL160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190801-- [?January 1908]
VWL5215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Sidgwick 1908---- [probably 1908 or later]
VWL157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190712-- [December 1907]
VWL156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190712-- [December 1907]

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