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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL2578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480312 12th March, 1948.
VWL2574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480302 March 2 [1948]
VWL3620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19480219 19th February, 1948.
VWL2543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480122 22nd. January, 1948
VWL2514 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19480104 January 4 [1948]
VWL1783 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 194712-- Friday [December 1947]
VWL2421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19471126 26th November, 1947.
VWL2401 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19471113 13th November, 1947
VWL1827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194711-- November, 1947
VWL1516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19471016 Oct 16 [1947]
VWL3639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19471008 8th October, 1947
VWL3641 Letter from Edmund Rubbra to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470808 [8 August 1947]
VWL2312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL3621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL2300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470625 25th June, 1947.
VWL2194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470619 19th June, 1947.
VWL2181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470513 [13th May 1947]
VWL2170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470430 [30th April 1947].
VWL1778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194703-- [Early March 1947]
VWL1729 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 1947---- [1947]
VWL2129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19461008 Oct 8 [1946]
VWL2127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460927 [27th September 1946]
VWL2100 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460925 [25th September 1946]
VWL2097 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460918 [18th September 1946]
VWL3644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19460828 Aug 28 [1946]
VWL4972 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19460806 Aug 6 [1946]
VWL2044 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460704 July 4 [1946?]
VWL2038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460505 May 5 [1946]
VWL2035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460425 April 25 [1946]
VWL2033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460412 [12th April 1946]

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