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
VWL4741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19451004 Oct 4 [1945]
VWL4751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19520213 13th February, 1952
VWL4754 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19540711 July 11th 1954.
VWL4756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19570103 January 3rd 1957.
VWL4745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19401019 Oct 19 [early 1940s]
VWL4747 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 194-0901 Sept 1st [late 1940s]
VWL4757 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19570426 April 26th 1957.
VWL4740 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 1939---- [1939]
VWL4746 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19460603 June 3d [1946?]
VWL4752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19520611 11th June, 1952
VWL4753 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19530118 18th January, 1953
VWL4755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19560802 August 2nd 1956.
VWL750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350704 [4th July 1935]
VWL924 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19310714 [14th July 1931]
VWL995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320104 [4th January 1932]
VWL1012 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320921 [21 September 1932]
VWL1347 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1935---- Sunday [1935]
VWL1516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19471016 Oct 16 [1947]
VWL1535 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19410511 Sunday [11th May 1941]
VWL1599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19411210 Dec 10 [1941]
VWL1648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194-0620 June 20th [194-?]
VWL1660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420505 [5th May 1942]
VWL2181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470513 [13th May 1947]
VWL2194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470619 19th June, 1947.
VWL2312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470807 7th August, 1947
VWL2322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511212 12th December, 1951.
VWL2395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL1776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194603-- [?March 1946]
VWL1947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19450904 Sept 4 [1945]
VWL1950 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19441223 Dec 23 [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