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
VWL2837 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Hamber 19481020 20th October, 1948.
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL1962 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19450915 Sept 15 [1945]
VWL4519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440125 Jan 24 [1944]
VWL4517 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19431205 Dec 5 [1943?]
VWL3833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olin Downes 19390112 January 12 [1939]
VWL1443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Townsend 19381118 [About 18th November 1938]
VWL1303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19380530 Monday [30 May 1938]
VWL1166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL3922 Letter from Ilse to Alan Bush 19370131 31/1/37.
VWL978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360825 Aug 25 [1936]
VWL1023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19321117 [Nov. 17. 32]
VWL1016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321012 Wednesday [12th October 1932]
VWL3902 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19320415 April 15 [1932]
VWL823 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 192810-- [October 1928]
VWL820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Ritchie 192810-- [October 1928]
VWL4133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19270113 Jan 13 [?1927]
VWL4132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192701-- Sunday, [January, ?1927]
VWL585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19250522 [22nd May 1925]
VWL4594 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19230427 Friday [27 April 1923]
VWL355 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19220614 June 14th [1922]
VWL4318 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19150331 March 31 [1915]
VWL346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19140214 [14th February 1914]
VWL4255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Florent Schmitt 191402-- [February, 1914]
VWL342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19131219 Dec 19th 1913
VWL390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19131205 Dec. 5 [1913]
VWL224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Darwin 19090611 June 11th [1909]
VWL217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19070106 Jan 6th 1907
VWL4458 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1898---- Tuesday [early summer 1898?]
VWL3966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1895---- [1895?]

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