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
VWL2476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19521001 1st October 1952
VWL2224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19510503 May 3 [1951?]
VWL1528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19410315 [Mid March 1941]
VWL1707 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19421017 Oct 17 [1942]
VWL1923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19440730 July 30 [1944]
VWL2350 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19520109 9th January 1952
VWL2541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19480119 Jan 19 [1948]
VWL2752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19540110 January 10th 1954
VWL5190 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19030214 Feb14th [1903]
VWL5189 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19030213 Feb 13th [1903]
VWL5191 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19041030 Oct 30th [1904]
VWL4665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350504 May 4 [1935]
VWL4666 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350310 March 10 [1935]
VWL4667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350714 July 14 [1935]
VWL5219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elsie Fry 19421226 26 December [early 1940s]
VWL4045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Emily Kreibich 19501231 New year eve 1950
VWL4046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Emily Kreibich 19470827 27th August, 1947.
VWL1313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Crozier 19500726 26th July, 1950.
VWL4933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 19140901 Sept 1st [1914]
VWL4930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 19140830 [end August 1914]
VWL4932 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric George Millar 191411-- [late November 1914]
VWL2850 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481104 4th November, 1948.
VWL2852 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481124 24th November, 1948.
VWL2851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19481118 18th November, 1948.
VWL2947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19490209 9th February, 1949.
VWL2976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19490325 25th March, 1949.
VWL2956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eric Walter White 19490228 Feb 28 [1949]
VWL1678 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Chapman 19420728 [28 July 1942]
VWL1193 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Chapman 19470325 [25 March, 1947]
VWL5050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Chapman 19381124 Nov 24 [1938?]

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