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
VWL1632 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19420211 Feb 11 [1942]
VWL1370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380817 [17th August 1938]
VWL1975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19500122 Jan 22 [1950]
VWL1457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390109 [9th January 1939]
VWL1648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194-0620 June 20th [194-?]
VWL1401 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19381014 Oct 14 [1938]
VWL4661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Haig-Brown 1926---- [1926-1929]
VWL1453 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19390101 Jan 1st 1939
VWL4657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Marsden 194402-- [Feb 1944]
VWL4579 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Thorpe 1930---- [1930-1934]
VWL1377 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Bush 19380925 Sept 25 [1938?]
VWL4658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL1571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19390625 June 25 [1939]
VWL2511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19471227 December 27 [1947]
VWL1953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19441226 Dec 26 [1944]
VWL833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19351226 [c.26th December 1935?]
VWL1405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19381101 [c.1 November 1938]
VWL1835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19441226 Dec 26 [1944]
VWL2025 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19460101 New Year's Day [1946]
VWL1333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380704 [4th July 1938]
VWL1378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381004 [4th October 1938]
VWL1406 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381106 Sunday evening [6th November 1938]
VWL1421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400522 [May 22 1940]
VWL1438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400923 [23 Sept. 1940]
VWL1481 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19401229 Dec 29 [1940]
VWL1482 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19401231 Dec 31 [1940]
VWL1499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194010-- Sunday morning 7.30 [After October 1940]
VWL1655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1945---- [Sometime between 1938 and 1946?]
VWL1725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1945---- [Sometime between 1938 and 1946]
VWL1742 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194209-- [About September 1942]

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