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
VWL4406 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Macleod 19520719 July 19 [1952]
VWL4407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350920 [after 19 September 1935]
VWL4408 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1910---- [ca 1910]
VWL4409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19110807 7 August, 1911
VWL4410 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- Sat. [ca 1912]
VWL4411 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- Monday [ca 1912]
VWL4412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191208-- [August,1912]
VWL4413 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- [1912?]
VWL4414 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130118 Friday, [18 January, 1913]
VWL4415 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130129 Tuesday, [29 January, 1913]
VWL4416 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130208 [8 February, 1913]
VWL4417 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130521 Wednesday [21 May, 1913]
VWL4418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130925 [25 September, 1913]
VWL4419 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191401-- Friday, [January, 1914]
VWL4420 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191905-- [in or after May, 1919]
VWL4421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19571215 December 15th 1957
VWL4422 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19400609 June 9 [1940?]
VWL4427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19501002 2nd October 1950.
VWL4429 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 1955---- [ca 1955]
VWL4430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 195804-- [April, 1958]
VWL4431 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19331226 Dec 26 [1933]
VWL4432 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marie Stopes 19391208 December 8 [1939]
VWL4433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frances Cornford 1913---- [1913]
VWL4434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cyril Clarke 19540110 January 10th 1954.
VWL4435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Paul Hirsch 19460411 April11 1946
VWL4436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1940---- [1940?]
VWL4437 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 1957---- [1957?]
VWL4438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eleanor Farjeon 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL4439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marie Stopes 19470224 Feb 24 [1947]
VWL4440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reverend F.S. Bull 19521029 29th. October 1952

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