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
VWL4485 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19550529 May 29th 1955.
VWL4480 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19540103 January 3rd 1954.
VWL4484 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19550812 August 12th 1955.
VWL4489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL4648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19530320 March 20 [1953]
VWL4649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19521203 3rd. December, 1952.
VWL4654 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19481014 Oct 14 [1948]
VWL4655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19480115 [15 January 1948]
VWL4656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19460526 [26 May 1946]
VWL4652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19490501 May 1st [1949]
VWL4646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 194903-- [March 1953]
VWL4647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 194002-- [Feb 1940]
VWL4650 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19511205 5th December 1951
VWL4651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19501206 6th December, 1950.
VWL4658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL4653 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19481208 8th December, 1948.
VWL4659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19421020 Oct 20 [1940]
VWL3594 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Strode 19571017 [17th October 1957]
VWL3973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Neville Cardus 1953---- 1953
VWL4882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Neville Coghill and Hal Burton 19510214 14th February, 1951.
VWL3274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nigel Fortune 19580723 July 23rd 1958.
VWL2595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nikolai Malko 19480429 29th April, 1948
VWL1317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nora Day and Vally Lasker 19341014 Oct 14th 34
VWL1705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Del Mar 19421014 Oct 14 [1942]
VWL3133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Del Mar 19491013 13th October, 1949.
VWL3211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Del Mar 19551023 October 23rd 1955.
VWL2221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Del Mar 19510430 April 30, 1951
VWL1578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19410831 Aug 31 [1941]
VWL1694 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19420928 Sept 28 [1942]
VWL1846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440101 Jan 1/1944

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