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
VWL2315 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470814 14th August, 1947
VWL2313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL2314 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL4748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL4438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eleanor Farjeon 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL2310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19470728 [28th July 1947]
VWL2183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19470724 July 24 [1947?]
VWL2308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19470717 17th July, 1947.
VWL2307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470710 July 10 [1947]
VWL2303 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19470703 3rd July, 1947
VWL2301 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19470625 25th June, 1947.
VWL2184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19470531 31st May, 1947.
VWL4526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19470522 Sunday [22 May, 1947]
VWL4329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470513 13 May 1947
VWL4229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19470509 [9 May 1947]
VWL2169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller Hartmann 19470423 [23rd April 1947]
VWL2167 Letter from Iris Lemare to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470419 April 13th [?1947]
VWL4838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19470411 April 11 [1947]
VWL1780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 194704-- [?Spring 1947]
VWL4681 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19470329 Wednesday [March 29 1947]
VWL1193 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Chapman 19470325 [25 March, 1947]
VWL1779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 194703-- [Early March 1947]
VWL2573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 19470227 Feb 27 [1947?]
VWL2163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470226 Feb 26 [1947]
VWL4439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marie Stopes 19470224 Feb 24 [1947]
VWL2162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe 19470221 Feb 21 [1947]
VWL2161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470218 [18 February 1947]
VWL2156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19470215 [mid February 1947]
VWL2155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19470213 Feb 13 [1947]
VWL2154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19470212 Feb 12 [1947]

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