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
VWL3781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 19250409 April 9th [1925]
VWL3784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Horace Edward Randerson 192504-- [April 1925]
VWL578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert F. McEwen 19250329 [29 March 1925]
VWL4770 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19250131 [31 January 1925]
VWL574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19250106 Jan. 6th 25.
VWL4599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Dearmer 1925---- [1925]
VWL739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1925---- Thursday [?about 1925]
VWL4380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robin Milford 1925---- [ca 1925]
VWL4792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1925---- [1925?]
VWL573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.F.R. Stainer 19241211 11/12/24
VWL558 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Thomas Humphrey Marshall 19240916 9/16/24
VWL571 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19240901 [Early September 1924]
VWL560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Humphrey Proctor-Gregg 19240719 [About 19 July 1924]
VWL567 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19240718 Friday [?18th July] 1924
VWL565 Letter from Crompton Llewellyn Davies to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240715 15 July l924
VWL561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19240703 [3rd July 1924]
VWL559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19240623 23.6.24
VWL789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 192406-- [?Mid 1924]
VWL556 Letter from Cecil Sharp to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240522 22.V.24
VWL790 Note from Cecil Sharp [to Ralph Vaughan Williams] 192405-- [Written before June 1924]
VWL786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 192404-- [April 1924]
VWL787 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 192404-- April, 1924
VWL543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240322 22/3/24
VWL784 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Curwen 192403-- Sunday [about March 1924]
VWL541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19240203 3 Feb 1924
VWL540 Letter from Cecil Sharp to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240119 19.I.24
VWL4083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19240103 [?3 January, 1924]
VWL581 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert F. McEwen 1924---- [? 1924]
VWL3930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Heseltine 1924---- [1924?]
VWL539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19231231 Dec 31.[1923]

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