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
VWL919 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19310621 June 21 [1931]
VWL1054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19330414 [April 14th 1933]
VWL1316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19341002 Oct 2 [34]
VWL1786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19430611 June 11, 43
VWL2285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19511024 24th October, 1951
VWL2627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL4886 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 1922---- [1922?]
VWL610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19261013 Oct. 13th 26
VWL870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19301013 [13th October 1930]
VWL760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker and Nora Day 192207-- July 1922
VWL2809 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker and others 19481014 14th October, 1948
VWL912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker, Nora Day and Helen Bidder 19310517 May 17th 31
VWL1723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Canning 19421030 Oct 30 [1942]
VWL3914 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19350127 Jan 27th [1935]
VWL3915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19390203 Feb [3rd 1939]
VWL3912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19340422 [22 or 23 April 1934]
VWL3917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19430707 July 7 [1943]
VWL3916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 194205-- [May 1942]
VWL3918 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19460609 June 9th [1946?]
VWL3913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19340701 Sunday [1 or 8 July 1934]
VWL1820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19431127 Nov 27 [1943]
VWL1759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430403 April 3rd [1943?]
VWL1793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovich 19430726 July 26 [1943]
VWL3328 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovitch 19580306 March 6th 1958
VWL3512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Kantrovitch (Vera Duncan) 19571015 [ca 15 October 1957]
VWL2943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Veronica Gotch 19490124 [About 24th January 1949]
VWL1998 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Veronica Gotch 19500524 24th May, 1950.
VWL3255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Veronica Wedgwood 19560103 Jan 3rd 1956
VWL2174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Veronica Wedgwood 19510117 17th January, 1951.
VWL542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501201 [4 Dec 1950]

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