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
VWL3015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370321 March 21 [1937]
VWL3016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370722 22 July [1937]
VWL3017 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 193708-- [August 1937?]
VWL3018 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370830 Aug 30 [1937]
VWL3019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leonard Smith 19490604 June 4 [1949]
VWL3020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490605 June 5/49
VWL3021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490608 8th June, 1949
VWL3022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Patrick Hadley 19490608 8th June, 1949
VWL3023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370601 June 1 [1937]
VWL3024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19380101 [1 Jan 1938]
VWL3025 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19381212 [12 Dec 1938]
VWL3026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19390113 [13 Jan 1939]
VWL3027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Sanford Terry 193----- 5.VII.[1930s?]
VWL3028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- Sunday [1934?]
VWL3029 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Fluck 19530718 July 18th 1953.
VWL3030 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Fluck 19540114 January 14th 1954.
VWL3031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs Crow 19530420 20th April, 1953.
VWL3032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19530422 April 22nd. 1953.
VWL3033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19530513 13th May, 1953.
VWL3034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs Crow 19530513 13th May,1953.
VWL3035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs. Hampton & Sons 195306-- [June 1953?]
VWL3036 Letter from Lewis Crow to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530721 21st July, 1953.
VWL3037 Letter from Lewis Crow to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530806 6th August, 1953.
VWL3038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19531025 October 25th 1953.
VWL3039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Northern Echo 19551213 December 13th 1955.
VWL3040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 193----- [1930s]
VWL3041 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 1925---- [1925]
VWL3042 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Don Ray 19500901 1st September, 1950
VWL3043 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560111 January 11th 1956.
VWL3044 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Gurney 19560111 January 11th 1956.

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