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
VWL404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19140514 May 14th 1914
VWL463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Edward Sayle 19200314 14/3/20
VWL464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Edward Sayle 19200319 19/3/20
VWL513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230402 April 2nd 23.
VWL589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19251101 [About 1 November 1925]
VWL756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19350710 July 10 [1935]
VWL937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19360315 March 15 [1936]
VWL1636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Tippett 19420321 March 21 [1942?]
VWL2627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL3445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Committee of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust 19561029 October 29th 1956
VWL4626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 19350203 Feb 3 [1935]
VWL4627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 193511-- [November 1935]
VWL4628 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denis Richards 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL4629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 19380530 Monday [30 May 1938]
VWL4630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denis Richards 19521119 19th November, 1952.
VWL4632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 19361217 December 17 [1936]
VWL4634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 19360329 March 29 [1936]
VWL4635 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of Morley College 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL5056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19510730 [Monday July 30 1951]
VWL5057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of Music and Letters 19350308 March 8, 1935.
VWL5059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Musical Times 193504-- [April 1935]
VWL5132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Listener 19350320 [20 March, 1935]

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