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
VWL5136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19211122 22/11/21
VWL476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19211015 [15th October 1921]
VWL481 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19211011 10/11/21
VWL480 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19211007 7/10/21
VWL4589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Flora Mann 19210829 [29 August 1921]
VWL479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19210816 [About 16th August 1921]
VWL478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19210814 14/8/21
VWL477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr & Mrs Robert F. McEwen 19210722 [22nd July 1921]
VWL4888 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 192106-- [June 1921]
VWL5180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr John 192106-- [June 1921]
VWL474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19210430 30/4/21
VWL473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19210407 [?early April 1921 ]
VWL472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19210401 1/4/21
VWL471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19210220 20/2/21
VWL3807 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Quilter 19210213 [Feb. 13, 1921]
VWL470 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Scholes 19210205 5 Feb 1921
VWL3674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 19210205 [5 February 1921]
VWL469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.H. Flagler 19210201 1/2/21
VWL467 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19201221 21 December 1920
VWL466 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19201215 15 December 1920
VWL4090 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19201106 [6 November, 1920]
VWL755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Newton 192011-- [About November 1920?]
VWL4091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19201014 15 October, 1920
VWL4092 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19200818 18/8/20
VWL4087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 192008-- [August, 1920]
VWL4581 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ida Darwin 19200629 June 29 [about 1920?]
VWL4088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19200408 [8 April, 1920]
VWL464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Edward Sayle 19200319 19/3/20
VWL465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19200319 19/3/20
VWL463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Edward Sayle 19200314 14/3/20

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