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
VWL4805 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1928---- [1928]
VWL4807 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1928---- [1928]
VWL4817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1930---- [1930]
VWL4818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310701 [1 July 1931]
VWL4828 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19341014 Oct 14th [1934?]
VWL4865 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1936---- [1936]
VWL4871 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19360720 [late July 1936]
VWL4872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [mid 1930s]
VWL4895 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530315 15.3.53
VWL4896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1953---- [1953?]
VWL4903 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [1935?]
VWL4910 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1939---- [1939?]
VWL4917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194-1225 Xmas Day [late 1940s?]
VWL597 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19260108 [8th January 1926]
VWL1020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321113 [About 13th November 1932]
VWL3610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19300311 March 11 [1930]
VWL3625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL3712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340205 Monday [February 5 1934]
VWL4431 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19331226 Dec 26 [1933]
VWL4790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19261116 [16 November 1926]
VWL4792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1925---- [1925?]
VWL4798 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1927---- [1927?]
VWL4801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192812-- [December, late 1920s]
VWL4806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1929---- [1929]
VWL4809 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192808-- [August 1928?]
VWL4810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19280702 [2 July 1928]
VWL4813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192909-- [September 1929]
VWL4820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1932---- [1932?]
VWL4823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321225 Xmas 1932
VWL4826 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193308-- [August 1933]

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