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
VWL412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141010 [c.10th October 1914]
VWL413 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141012 [c.12th October 1914]
VWL414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141101 Nov 1st [1914]
VWL415 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141024 [24th October 1914]
VWL472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19210401 1/4/21
VWL557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19240605 [c. September 1924]
VWL575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250113 Jan 13 [1925]
VWL576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250205 [5th February 1925]
VWL577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250215 Feb 15th [c 1925]
VWL586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192501-- [January 1925]
VWL593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19251107 [7th November 1925]
VWL602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hugh Allen 19270303 March 3 [1926]
VWL604 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19260503 May 3 [1926]
VWL632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19260701 July 1 [1926]
VWL721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL737 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192608-- [16 August 1926]
VWL788 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192405-- [Before 5th June 1924]
VWL791 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192502-- [?February 1925]
VWL846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19300310 March 10th [1930]
VWL847 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19300501 [c 1st May 1930]
VWL848 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19300527 [27th May 1930]
VWL915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19310521 Thursday May 21 [1931]
VWL943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19360512 May 12th [c1936?]
VWL962 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19311102 Nov 2d [1931]
VWL964 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193111-- [After 2nd November 1931]
VWL1157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193106-- [?June 1931]
VWL1165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193111-- [Mid October 1931]
VWL1419 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Librarian , King’s College, Cambridge. 19400425 April 25th 1940
VWL1462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401021 Oct 21 [1940]
VWL1465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401031 Oct 31 [1940]

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