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
VWL2509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19471225 Xmas Day [1947?]
VWL2857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL2887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19541116 November 16th 1954.
VWL3393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL3605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Needham 19310112 January 12 [1931]
VWL3604 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Needham 19310101 Jan 1st 1931
VWL5118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge 19290521 May 21 [1929]
VWL5120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge 19321218 December 18 [1932]
VWL5117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge 193110-- [October 1931?]
VWL5119 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge 19310605 June 5 [1931]
VWL824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 192903-- [March 1929]
VWL1031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 193203-- [c.March 1932]
VWL1602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19391010 [10 October 1939]
VWL1770 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 1949---- Friday [late 1940s?]
VWL1789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19430623 June 23 1943
VWL2652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19530215 February 15th 1953
VWL2477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19521110 November 10th 1952
VWL2557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19521224 24th December, 1952
VWL2716 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19530912 Sept 12th, 53
VWL546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 193506-- [June 1935]
VWL563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 193505-- [May 1935]
VWL989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19371228 Dec 28 [1937]
VWL990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19320914 [14 September 1932]
VWL1070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19340723 July 23 [1934]
VWL2080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19500901 1st September 1950
VWL665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 193804-- [April 1938]
VWL1126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19331215 Dec 15 [1933]
VWL1651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 1945---- Friday [c.1945?]
VWL1924 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19440801 August 1 [1944]
VWL2243 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19510521 May 21 [1951]

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