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
VWL2617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530122 January 22nd 1953.
VWL3659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19530107 Jan 7 [1953]
VWL2927 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1953---- Friday [1953?]
VWL3657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19521210 [About 10th December 1952]
VWL2519 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521020 October 20th. [1952]
VWL2491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19521019 October 19th 1952.
VWL2489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joy Finzi 19521014 October 14th 1952.
VWL2410 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520522 22nd May, 1952.
VWL2395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL2376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520312 12th March, 1952.
VWL4540 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511227 27th December, 1951.
VWL2331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511218 18th December, 1951.
VWL2322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511212 12th December, 1951.
VWL2299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511128 28th November, 1951.
VWL2295 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511114 Nov 14 [1951]
VWL2262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19510703 July 3rd [1951]
VWL3126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19510521 [21 May 1951]
VWL2206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19510316 16th March, 1951.
VWL2193 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19510221 21st. February, 1951.
VWL4539 Letter from Ralph and Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joyce Finzi 19510221 Feb 21 [1951]
VWL2064 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 195102-- Monday [February 1951]
VWL2158 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19510101 Jan 1 [1951]
VWL2125 Letter from Ursula Wood to Gerald Finzi 19501218 18.12.50.
VWL2060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 195012-- [December 1950?]
VWL2109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J. L. Boston 19501018 18th October, 1950
VWL2103 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19501011 11th October, 1950.
VWL2102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19501007 [7th October 1950?]
VWL2089 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19501004 October 4 [1950?]
VWL2079 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19500901 September 1 [1950?]
VWL2049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19500712 12th July, 1950.

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