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
VWL4824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19330220 Feb 20 [1933]
VWL4821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1933---- [1933]
VWL4823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321225 Xmas 1932
VWL1020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321113 [About 13th November 1932]
VWL1016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321012 Wednesday [12th October 1932]
VWL4822 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1932---- [1932]
VWL4820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1932---- [1932?]
VWL4819 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193112-- [December 1931?]
VWL4818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310701 [1 July 1931]
VWL3628 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310621 June 21, [1931]
VWL3629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310614 June 14, [1931]
VWL3612 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310607 June 7, [ca 1931]
VWL3627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL3626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL3625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL4816 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193010-- [October 1930]
VWL4815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193008-- [August 1930]
VWL3610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19300311 March 11 [1930]
VWL4817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1930---- [1930]
VWL3648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19291006 Oct 6th [1929]
VWL4813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192909-- [September 1929]
VWL3780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1929032- [Late March 1929]
VWL4808 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1929---- [late 1920s]
VWL4814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1929---- [Spring 1929]
VWL4806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1929---- [1929]
VWL4811 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19281207 [7 December 1928]
VWL4801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192812-- [December, late 1920s]
VWL4812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192809-- [September 1928]
VWL4809 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192808-- [August 1928?]
VWL4810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19280702 [2 July 1928]

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