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
VWL4317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191412-- [December, 1914]
VWL4319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191905-- [May, 1919]
VWL4320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19041231 [31 December, 1904]
VWL4321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1905---- [between 1905-November, 1907]
VWL4322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19071118 Nov 19th 1907
VWL4324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 19510221 21st. February, 1951.
VWL4325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 193503-- [c. March 1935]
VWL4327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams’s cat to Marjory Jordan 19510829 Aug 29 1951
VWL4330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19530201 [1 Feb 1953]
VWL4342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530408 April 8th [1953]
VWL4344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL4345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19521226 Dec 26 [1952]
VWL4347 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19521013 October 13 1952.
VWL4348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19520820 20th August, 1952
VWL4350 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19520611 11th June, 1952.
VWL4351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL4352 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19520214 14.2.52
VWL4353 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19511205 5th December, 1951.
VWL4354 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19511012 12th October, 1951.
VWL4355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480414 14th April, 1948.
VWL4357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Shaw 19460715 July 15 [1946]
VWL4372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19490914 Sept 14 1949
VWL4374 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19530729 29 July, 1953
VWL4376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500103 Jan 3 [1950]
VWL4380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robin Milford 1925---- [ca 1925]
VWL4381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 190711-- [after November 1907]
VWL4382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1910---- [ca 1910]
VWL4383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1910---- [ca 1910]
VWL4384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1914---- [1914?]
VWL4385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1910---- [ca 1910]

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