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
VWL345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191401-- [Jan 1914?]
VWL1148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 193111-- [After October 1931]
VWL1211 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370907 Tuesday aftn [7th September 1937]
VWL1885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denys Kilham Roberts 19450416 16th April [1945]
VWL2727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530930 September 30th 1953.
VWL2750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540103 January 3rd 1954.
VWL2858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL3334 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Parker 19580226 February 26th 1958.
VWL3374 Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580216 Feb 16th 1958
VWL3445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Committee of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust 19561029 October 29th 1956
VWL3616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Canon George W. Briggs 19431003 Oct 3 1943
VWL3779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Humphrey Milford 19420311 March 11 [1942]
VWL4082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19190225 25/2/19
VWL4083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19240103 [?3 January, 1924]
VWL4084 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1916---- [1916]
VWL4086 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19160802 Wednesday Aug 2nd [1916]
VWL4100 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Canon Briggs 19400201 Feb 1st [1940]
VWL4101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1938---- [?1938]
VWL4104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 193812-- Dec. [1938?]
VWL4166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540314 March 14th 1954
VWL4187 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560821 August 21st 1956
VWL4194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL4195 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL4197 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195808-- [August, 1958]
VWL4198 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19580925 25 September, 1958
VWL4200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19580214 February 14th 1958.
VWL4205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19520520 20 May [1952]
VWL4206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530902 Sept 2nd 1953
VWL4247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560703 July 3rd 1956.
VWL4252 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570817 August 17th [1958]

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