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
VWL4868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- [1934]
VWL4869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [1930s]
VWL4870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19360526 May 26 [1936]
VWL4897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193809-- [September 1938]
VWL4905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1937---- [late 1930s?]
VWL4912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194101-- [January 1941?]
VWL1295 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340910 [About 10th September 1934]
VWL1453 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19390101 Jan 1st 1939
VWL746 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1927---- [1927]
VWL1016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321012 Wednesday [12th October 1932]
VWL3647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19401226 Dec 26 [ca 1940]
VWL3650 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194008-- [ca August 1940]
VWL4770 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19250131 [31 January 1925]
VWL4804 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19280203 [3 February 1928]
VWL4811 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19281207 [7 December 1928]
VWL4816 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193010-- [October 1930]
VWL4819 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193112-- [December 1931?]
VWL4822 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1932---- [1932]
VWL4825 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193306-- [June 1933]
VWL4860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19381220 Dec 20 [1938]
VWL4861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [1930s?]
VWL4893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19541225 December 25th 1954.
VWL4899 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19390713 [13 July 1939]
VWL4906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193910-- [autumn 1939]
VWL4916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19531225 Dec 25 [about 1953?]
VWL3780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1929032- [Late March 1929]
VWL1292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340905 Wed [5th September 1934]
VWL4787 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19250615 [mid-June 1925]

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