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.

Searching:
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
VWL4293 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19150630 June 30th, [1915]
VWL4290 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19150515 May 19 [1915]
VWL4305 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191505-- Sunday [May 1915]
VWL4318 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19150331 March 31 [1915]
VWL420 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Special Constabulary Chelsea Company 19141124 Nov 24th [1914]
VWL4314 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19140817 Monday [17 August, 1914]
VWL4301 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191402-- Friday [February, 1914]
VWL4419 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191401-- Friday, [January, 1914]
VWL4306 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1914---- Saturday [late 1914]
VWL4304 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1914---- Monday, [late 1914]
VWL390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19131205 Dec. 5 [1913]
VWL4553 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19130825 August 25 [1913?]
VWL341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19130609 June 9th [1913]
VWL4417 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130521 Wednesday [21 May, 1913]
VWL4415 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130129 Tuesday, [29 January, 1913]
VWL4414 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130118 Friday, [18 January, 1913]
VWL382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19120401 Monday [1st April 1912]
VWL4410 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- Sat. [ca 1912]
VWL4411 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- Monday [ca 1912]
VWL377 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19111130 November 30th [1911]
VWL371 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 19110608 June 8th [1911]
VWL4492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19090115 [15 January 1909]
VWL158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190801-- [January 1908]
VWL211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19061010 [10th October 1906]
VWL208 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19060911 September 11 [1906]
VWL142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19060820 [20 August 1906]
VWL138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190603-- [?March 1906]
VWL199 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19050531 May 31st [1905]
VWL198 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19050428 April 28th [1905]
VWL3986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to F.W. Evans 19050306 6 March 1905

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