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
VWL2290 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19511031 31st. October, 1951
VWL4879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1950---- [ca 1950]
VWL4878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1950---- [ca 1950]
VWL4793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491223 Dec 23 [1949?]
VWL3117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491109 9th November, 1949
VWL3120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491102 2nd November, 1949
VWL4794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491022 October 22 [1949?]
VWL3131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491019 19th October 1949
VWL4775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1949---- Sunday [1949?]
VWL1829 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 194711-- November, 1947
VWL1382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19400202 Feb 2 [1940]
VWL4773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19351226 Dec 26 [1935?]
VWL4877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL1194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19340304 March 4 [1934]
VWL4762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19300103 Jan 3d [ca 1930]
VWL669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19290402 [2nd April 1929]
VWL4761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 192604-- [April, 1926?]

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