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
VWL4630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denis Richards 19521119 19th November, 1952.
VWL4635 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of Morley College 19500927 27th September, 1950.
VWL4636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194001-- [January 1940]
VWL4637 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390129 [19 Feb 1939]
VWL4638 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor Hermann Fiedler 19381119 Nov 19 [1938]
VWL4640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Willis 19550514 May 14th 1955
VWL4644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 1943---- [1943]
VWL4646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 194903-- [March 1953]
VWL4647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 194002-- [Feb 1940]
VWL4648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19530320 March 20 [1953]
VWL4652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19490501 May 1st [1949]
VWL4654 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19481014 Oct 14 [1948]
VWL4655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19480115 [15 January 1948]
VWL4657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Marsden 194402-- [Feb 1944]
VWL4658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL4659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19421020 Oct 20 [1940]
VWL4660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Coles 19371101 1st Nov [1937]
VWL4661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Haig-Brown 1926---- [1926-1929]
VWL4664 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Plomer 19410622 June 22 1941
VWL4673 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Farmer 19490928 September 28th, 1949.
VWL4686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert and Beryl Lock 19541012 [October 1954]
VWL4687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McKie 19521119 19th November 1952.
VWL4690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 1928---- [1928]
VWL4691 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19390524 May 23 [1939]
VWL4693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19570825 25 Aug 1957
VWL4694 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580202 [2nd February 1958]
VWL4696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Mackay 19571017 [17 Oct 1957]
VWL4697 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270729 July 29 [1927]
VWL4698 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George McCleary 1920---- [1920s?]
VWL4700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 1930---- [1930s?]

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