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
VWL277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19000207 [ca 7 February, 1900]
VWL278 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19000207 Feb 7th [1900]
VWL348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191409-- [September 1914]
VWL352 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 191606-- [June 1916]
VWL353 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 191606-- [Late June 1916]
VWL356 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 191807-- [Summer 1918]
VWL424 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye-Butterworth 19160816 Aug 16th [1916]
VWL425 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye-Butterworth 19160904 Monday [4th?] Sept [1916]
VWL426 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19161021 Saturday Oct 21st [1916]
VWL427 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19161205 Dec 5th l916
VWL428 Letter from Charles Hubert Parry to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19170226 Febry 26. 1917
VWL431 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19170720 July 20 [1917]
VWL432 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19170804 Aug 4 [1917]
VWL438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Dorothea Butterworth 19180216 Saturday [?16th February 1918]
VWL440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19180224 Sunday [24 February 1918]
VWL442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19180503 May 3rd [1918]
VWL443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Turner 19180511 May 11th [1918]
VWL444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19180608 8/6/18
VWL445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19181116 Nov. 16th [1918?]
VWL446 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19181212 12.12.18
VWL1225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390918 [18 September 1939]
VWL1355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193407-- [late July 1934]
VWL1378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381004 [4th October 1938]
VWL1418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19400511 May 11th [1940?]
VWL1442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19401004 Oct 4th [1940]
VWL1486 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194004-- [April 1940]
VWL1490 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [Early July 1940]
VWL1606 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Tippett 19411217 Dec 17 [1941]
VWL1623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the editor of Civil Liberty 19411231 Dec 31 1941
VWL1624 Letter from R.O.Morris to Alice Sumsion 19420103 Jan 3 1942

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