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
VWL4322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19071118 Nov 19th 1907
VWL4381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 190711-- [after November 1907]
VWL155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190711-- [November 1907]
VWL220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Delius 19071030 [After 24 October 1907]
VWL219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Delius 19071024 Oct. 24th [1907]
VWL154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190710-- ?October 1907]
VWL153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190708-- [?Summer 1907]
VWL4461 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19070703 [3 Jul 1907]
VWL834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Florence Maitland 190707-- [?July 1907]
VWL218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19070603 [3rd June 1907]
VWL152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 190706-- [?After 3rd June 1907]
VWL151 Draft notes by Ralph Vaughan Williams relating to Cecil Sharp’s English Folksongs (London 1907) 190705-- [?May 1907]
VWL150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 190705-- [After April, 1907]
VWL215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19070301 [early March 1907]
VWL217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19070106 Jan 6th 1907
VWL122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs W. Hadley 1907---- [1907?]
VWL216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19061126 November 26 [1906]
VWL214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19061107 Nov 7th [1906]
VWL147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 190611-- Wed [November 1906]
VWL148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 190611-- [November 1906]
VWL149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Folk Song Society 190611-- [?November 1906]
VWL213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19061018 Oct 18th [1906]
VWL212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19061017 Oct 17th [1906]
VWL211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19061010 [10th October 1906]
VWL146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19061006 [October 1906]
VWL210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19061005 [5th October 1906]
VWL209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19061001 [About 1st October 1906]
VWL145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 190610-- [?October 1906]
VWL143 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 190609-- [?September 1906]
VWL144 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 190609-- [?September 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