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
VWL4444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 194908-- [August] 1949
VWL4451 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19491026 26th October, 1949.
VWL4536 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19501011 October 11, [1950]
VWL4544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL4554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19130113 Jan 13th 1913,
VWL4599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Dearmer 1925---- [1925]
VWL4870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19360526 May 26 [1936]
VWL4880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19400813 Aug 13 [ca 1940]
VWL4978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19380703 July 3rd. [1938]
VWL4981 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19400802 August 2 [1940]
VWL4982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401119 [19 or 20 November, 1940]
VWL4993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19330813 August 13 [1933]
VWL5061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19330806 August 6 [1933]
VWL5063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19470706 July 6 [1947]
VWL5065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 1947---- [1947?]
VWL5191 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ellis and White 19041030 Oct 30th [1904]
VWL5256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Abraham 19490324 24th March, 1949.

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