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
VWL158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190801-- [January 1908]
VWL276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189912-- [late 1899]
VWL286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971027 October 27, l897
VWL322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191003-- [Towards end of March 1910]
VWL365 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19100715 [About 15th July 1910]
VWL441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19180226 Feb 26th [1918]
VWL512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1937---- [1937?]
VWL560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Humphrey Proctor-Gregg 19240719 [About 19 July 1924]
VWL561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19240703 [3rd July 1924]
VWL566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Humphrey Proctor-Gregg 192406-- [June 1924]
VWL590 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 193704-- [April 1937]
VWL591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 193704-- [late April 1937]
VWL617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270726 July 26th [1927]
VWL619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270818 [18th August 1927]
VWL620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 Sep 23 [1927]
VWL621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 [23rd September 1927]
VWL634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19280912 [12th September 1928]
VWL674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193906-- [June, 1939]
VWL680 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19290721 July 21 [1929]
VWL774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Nevinson 19350908 Sep 8 [1935]
VWL815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 192708-- [August 1927]
VWL945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19360522 Friday [22nd May 1936]
VWL948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19360520 [20 May, or after, 1936]
VWL950 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19360522 [22 May 1936]
VWL956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19360719 July 19th [1936]
VWL963 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19360802 [2 August 1936]
VWL1073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19361009 Friday [9 October 1936]
VWL1112 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19361220 December 20 [1936]
VWL1140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19370131 January 31 [1937].
VWL1167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370413 April 13 [1937]

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