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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3959 Letter from Gustav Holst Ralph Vaughan Williams 192205-- Friday [May, 1922]
VWL3960 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220409 April 9
VWL3961 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19251111 Nov 11, [1925]
VWL3962 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19330901 Sep 1, [1933]
VWL3964 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520224 February 24th [1952]
VWL3966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1895---- [1895?]
VWL3974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams for Clarence Pinnock 19380502 May 2d 1938
VWL3975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marc Vignal 19580807 August 7th 1958.
VWL3985 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19571126 November 26th 1957.
VWL3993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19390514 May 14 1939
VWL3995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19501115 15th November, 1950.
VWL3996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19510808 8 Aug 1951
VWL4001 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 193509-- [autumn 1935]
VWL4002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19361121 Nov 21 [1936]
VWL4003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19371016 Oct 16 [1937]
VWL4075 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19161205 Dec 5th 1916
VWL4076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Fisher 19160403 3 April 1916
VWL4077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19270708 July 8 [1927]
VWL4078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19550901 September 1st 1955.
VWL4079 Letter from Lionel Tertis to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19291024 Oct-24-29
VWL4082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19190225 25/2/19
VWL4083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19240103 [?3 January, 1924]
VWL4084 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1916---- [1916]
VWL4085 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19190205 5/2/19
VWL4086 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19160802 Wednesday Aug 2nd [1916]
VWL4087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 192008-- [August, 1920]
VWL4088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19200408 [8 April, 1920]
VWL4089 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Shaw 19231011 11, 10, 23
VWL4090 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19201106 [6 November, 1920]
VWL4091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19201014 15 October, 1920

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