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
VWL649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193804-- [About April 1938]
VWL663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193904-- [Newcastle, 29th March, 1939]
VWL672 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193906-- [June, 1939]
VWL701 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193909-- [September 1939]
VWL833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19351226 [c.26th December 1935?]
VWL1223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390915 [15th September 1939]
VWL1228 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391226 Dec 26 [1939]
VWL1308 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380614 Midnight - Tuesday [14 June 1938]
VWL1333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380704 [4th July 1938]
VWL1357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400106 Jan 6 [1940]
VWL1358 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400111 Jan 11 [1940]
VWL1370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380817 [17th August 1938]
VWL1373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400125 Jan 25 [1940]
VWL1377 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Bush 19380925 Sept 25 [1938?]
VWL1378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381004 [4th October 1938]
VWL1388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381014 Oct 14 [1938]
VWL1389 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400215 [15th February 1940]
VWL1399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400313 March 13 [1940?]
VWL1401 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19381014 Oct 14 [1938]
VWL1404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381018 Tuesday [18th October 1938]
VWL1405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19381101 [c.1 November 1938]
VWL1406 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381106 Sunday evening [6th November 1938]
VWL1414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400410 [10 April 1940]
VWL1421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400522 [May 22 1940]
VWL1438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19400923 [23 Sept. 1940]
VWL1440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19401001 [About 1st October 1940]
VWL1449 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381211 [11th December 1938]
VWL1453 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19390101 Jan 1st 1939
VWL1457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390109 [9th January 1939]
VWL1477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19401214 [Dec 14th? '40]

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