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.

Searching:
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
VWL4817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1930---- [1930]
VWL4818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310701 [1 July 1931]
VWL4819 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193112-- [December 1931?]
VWL4820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1932---- [1932?]
VWL4821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1933---- [1933]
VWL4822 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1932---- [1932]
VWL4823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321225 Xmas 1932
VWL4824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19330220 Feb 20 [1933]
VWL4825 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193306-- [June 1933]
VWL4826 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193308-- [August 1933]
VWL4827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193404-- [April 1934]
VWL4828 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19341014 Oct 14th [1934?]
VWL4829 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19341109 Nov 9 [1934?]
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]
VWL4870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19360526 May 26 [1936]
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]
VWL4893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19541225 December 25th 1954.
VWL4894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530326 26th March, 1953.
VWL4895 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530315 15.3.53

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