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
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]
VWL1457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390109 [9th January 1939]
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]
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]
VWL2006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19451015 Oct 15 [1945]
VWL2031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460327 March 27 [1946]
VWL2038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460505 May 5 [1946]
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.
VWL2543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480122 22nd. January, 1948
VWL2623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL3020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490605 June 5/49
VWL3021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490608 8th June, 1949

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