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
VWL4221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540711 July 11th 1954.
VWL4225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL4239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19551030 October 30th 1955.
VWL4319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191905-- [May, 1919]
VWL4496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 192810-- [?october, 1928]
VWL4500 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL4502 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Dearmer 191905-- [May, 1919]
VWL4506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1940---- Monday [ca 1940]
VWL4509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19410515 May 15 [1941?]
VWL4515 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19411019 Oct 19 [1941?]
VWL4516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19431020 Oct 20th [1943]
VWL4531 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19481226 Dec 26 [1948?]
VWL4532 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL4536 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19501011 October 11, [1950]
VWL4545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530204 4th February, 1953
VWL4584 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 192-0617 June 17 [1920s]
VWL4599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Dearmer 1925---- [1925]
VWL4661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Haig-Brown 1926---- [1926-1929]
VWL4663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Wilson 19571207 December 7th [1957]
VWL4712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 193-0213 Feb 13 193?

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