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
VWL631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Keynes 19280612 June 12 [1928?]
VWL3617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 192806-- [June 1928]
VWL5150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19280422 [22 April 1928]
VWL630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19280225 Feb 25 [1928]
VWL4991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19280223 Feb 23 [1928]
VWL4582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W. Norman Boase 19280216 Feb 16th [about 1928]
VWL629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19280208 [8th February 1928]
VWL4804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19280203 [3 February 1928]
VWL628 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19280202 [2nd February 1928]
VWL627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19280130 [30 January 1928]
VWL743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1928---- [before 1928]
VWL3822 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1928---- [about 1928]
VWL4099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1928---- [1928]
VWL1652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 1928---- Undated [?1928]
VWL4802 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1928---- [1928]
VWL4805 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1928---- [1928]
VWL4807 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1928---- [1928]
VWL3823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1928---- [about 1928]
VWL4690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 1928---- [1928]
VWL4803 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1928--- [late 1920s]
VWL626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19271226 [26th December 1927]
VWL625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271202 [2 December 1927]
VWL624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271118 Nov 18 [1927]
VWL623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19271108 Nov 8th [1927]
VWL4134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192711-- [?November, 1927]
VWL622 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19271009 [9th October 1927]
VWL814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19271001 [October 1927]
VWL4701 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19271001 [late September/early October 1927]
VWL4800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192710-- [October 1927?]
VWL619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270818 [18th August 1927]

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