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
VWL3381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560413 April 13 1956
VWL248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350303 [3rd March 1935]
VWL625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271202 [2 December 1927]
VWL702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350417 April 17 [1935]
VWL868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300829 [29th August 1930]
VWL953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19360714 July 14 [?1936]
VWL1183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19340122 [22nd January 1934]
VWL1657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420426 [26th April 1942]
VWL1658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420521 [21st May 1942]
VWL1684 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420902 Sept 2 [1942]
VWL1879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19450313 [13th March 1945]
VWL1900 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19450803 [3rd August 1945]
VWL1935 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19440925 [25th September 1944]
VWL2007 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19451021 Oct 21 [1945]
VWL2014 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19500705 5th July, 1950.
VWL2349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520109 9th January, 1952.
VWL2578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480312 12th March, 1948.
VWL2491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19521019 October 19th 1952.
VWL2658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530218 18th February, 1953.
VWL3172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL4540 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511227 27th December, 1951.
VWL312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19231117 17/11/23
VWL314 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350405 [5th April 1935]
VWL527 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1939---- [1939?]
VWL627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19280130 [30 January 1928]
VWL1037 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 193303-- [March 1933]
VWL1190 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370725 Sunday [25th July 1937]
VWL1221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390823 Aug 23 [1939?]
VWL1401 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19381014 Oct 14 [1938]
VWL1504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194103-- [March 1941]

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