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
VWL2303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19470703 3rd July, 1947
VWL4681 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19470329 Wednesday [March 29 1947]
VWL2142 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19461209 9th December 1946
VWL4678 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19461206 Friday [Dec 6 1946]
VWL4357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Shaw 19460715 July 15 [1946]
VWL4746 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19460603 June 3d [1946?]
VWL1928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19440819 Aug 19th [1944]
VWL4130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19430908 August 9 [1943?]
VWL1839 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194303-- [March 1943]
VWL1735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19421204 [4th December 1942 ]
VWL1743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194210-- [About October 1942]
VWL1686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420905 September 4th 1942.
VWL1742 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194209-- [About September 1942]
VWL1740 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194207-- [July 1942]
VWL4024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19420111 Jan 11th 1942
VWL1603 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Isaacs (BBC) 19411216 Dec 16 1941
VWL1588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19411117 Nov 17 [1947]
VWL4022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19411117 Nov 17 1941
VWL1575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19410814 Aug l4th [1941]
VWL1553 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410803 Aug 3rd [?1941]
VWL4745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19401019 Oct 19 [early 1940s]
VWL1507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 1940---- [1940]

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