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
VWL4852 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19351230 [late December, mid 1930s]
VWL4853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19320617 June 17 [1932?]
VWL4854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 1935---- [late 1930s]
VWL4855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 1930---- [1930s?]
VWL4857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19350326 March 26 [1935]
VWL4858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193302-- [February 1933]
VWL4859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19510520 May 20 [1951]
VWL4860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19381220 Dec 20 [1938]
VWL4861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [1930s?]
VWL4862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1949---- [late 1940s?]
VWL4863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19351102 Monday [2 November 1935]
VWL4864 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1936---- [1936]
VWL4865 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1936---- [1936]
VWL4866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193508-- [August 1935]
VWL4867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19350620 [about 20 June 1935]
VWL4868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- [1934]
VWL4869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [1930s]
VWL4871 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19360720 [late July 1936]
VWL4872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [mid 1930s]
VWL4873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19370506 [6 May 1937]
VWL4874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19490105 5th January, 1949.
VWL4876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19490119 19th January, 1949.
VWL4877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL4878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1950---- [ca 1950]
VWL4879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1950---- [ca 1950]
VWL4880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19400813 Aug 13 [ca 1940]
VWL4881 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19420511 May 11 [1942]
VWL4883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 1935---- [late 1930s?]
VWL4884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 195010-- [late October, about 1950?]
VWL4885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230915 [mid-September 1923]

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