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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19360512 May 12th [c1936?]
VWL2596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.J. Dent 19480429 29th April, 1948
VWL1874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.J. Dent 19450216 Feb 16 [1945]
VWL2023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.J. Dent 19451211 Dec 11 [c1945?]
VWL412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141010 [c.10th October 1914]
VWL577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250215 Feb 15th [c 1925]
VWL593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19251107 [7th November 1925]
VWL317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191002-- [February 1910]
VWL327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191004-- [April 1910]
VWL361 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19100501 [Before 6th May 1910]
VWL362 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19100508 [About 8th May 1910]
VWL1165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193111-- [Mid October 1931]
VWL1465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401031 Oct 31 [1940]
VWL1473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401125 Nov 25 [1940?]
VWL791 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192502-- [?February 1925]
VWL2071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19500809 9th August, 1950
VWL1157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193106-- [?June 1931]
VWL1476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401213 Dec 13 [1940]
VWL308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19101201 [January 1910]
VWL360 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19100307 [7th March 1910]
VWL396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140401 [About 1st April 1914]
VWL788 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192405-- [Before 5th June 1924]
VWL575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250113 Jan 13 [1925]
VWL737 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192608-- [16 August 1926]
VWL1712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19421020 Oct 20 [1942]
VWL2220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510430 April 30 [1951]
VWL309 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191001-- [January 1910]
VWL326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191004-- [April 1910]
VWL330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 1910---- [mid 1910?]

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