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
VWL3573 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571005 Oct 5/57.
VWL3652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1940---- [ca 1940]
VWL3664 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19570822 22 August 1957
VWL3869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1934---- Sunday [1934]
VWL3902 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19320415 April 15 [1932]
VWL3913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19340701 Sunday [1 or 8 July 1934]
VWL4187 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560821 August 21st 1956
VWL4192 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560718 July 18th. [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
VWL4246 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560620 June 20th 1956
VWL4247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560703 July 3rd 1956.
VWL4248 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mr Martin Shaw 19570905 Tuesday [3 September, 1957]
VWL4249 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195710-- [inter September-December, 1957]
VWL4250 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19580226 February 26th [1958]
VWL4289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560304 Sunday [4 March 1956].
VWL4516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19431020 Oct 20th [1943]
VWL4525 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1946-- [November, 1946]
VWL4526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19470522 Sunday [22 May, 1947]
VWL4528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19471031 Oct 31 [1947?]
VWL4533 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19491223 December 23 [1949]
VWL4588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Standen 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL4675 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19420105 Monday night, [5 January, 1942]
VWL4684 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1950---- Thursday [1950]
VWL4693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19570825 25 Aug 1957
VWL4826 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193308-- [August 1933]
VWL4868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- [1934]
VWL4986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401114 Nov 14 [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