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
VWL248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350303 [3rd March 1935]
VWL312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19231117 17/11/23
VWL314 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350405 [5th April 1935]
VWL527 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1939---- [1939?]
VWL615 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19270401 [1st April 1927]
VWL616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19270502 [2nd May 1927]
VWL624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271118 Nov 18 [1927]
VWL625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271202 [2 December 1927]
VWL627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19280130 [30 January 1928]
VWL633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19280815 Aug 15 [1928]
VWL702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350417 April 17 [1935]
VWL731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350608 [8th June 1935]
VWL747 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1929---- Friday [after 1929]
VWL750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350704 [4th July 1935]
VWL769 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350822 Aug 22 [1935]
VWL859 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300702 July 2 [1930]
VWL860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300708 [8th July 1930]
VWL861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300712 [12th July 1930]
VWL868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300829 [29th August 1930]
VWL876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19301105 [5th November 1930]
VWL914 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19310518 Monday [18th May 1931]
VWL916 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320610 Friday [10th June 1932]
VWL921 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19310630 Tuesday [30th June 1931]
VWL924 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19310714 [14th July 1931]
VWL953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19360714 July 14 [?1936]
VWL979 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19360818 [18th August 1936]
VWL987 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19311212 Saturday [31st December 1931]
VWL995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320104 [4th January 1932]
VWL997 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320309 Wednesday [9th March 1932]
VWL998 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320316 Wednesday aftn [16th March 1932]

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