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
VWL2959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19490309 9th March, 1949
VWL2961 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19490315 March 15 [1949]
VWL849 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19300316 March 16 [1930]
VWL850 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 193004-- [April 1930]
VWL1124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19331207 Dec 7 [1933]
VWL2650 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19530214 February 14th 1953.
VWL2225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19510504 4 May 1951
VWL1129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19331226 Dec 26 [1933 ]
VWL1121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19331112 Nov 12 [1933]
VWL1122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19340103 [3 January 1934]
VWL3864 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1952---- Whit Sunday [1952?]
VWL3879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL4909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George M. Trevelyan 19560215 February 15th 1956
VWL3288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19560215 February 15th 1956.
VWL660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290223 Feb 23 [1929]
VWL634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19280912 [12th September 1928]
VWL658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290201 [About 1st February 1929]
VWL824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 192903-- [March 1929]
VWL846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19300310 March 10th [1930]
VWL468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald F. Tovey 19270303 March 3 [1927]
VWL4836 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 194601-- [before 25 January, 1946]
VWL4835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 194601-- [?January, 1946]
VWL4837 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19460308 March 8 [1946?]
VWL4834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19460130 January 30 [1946]
VWL4559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 1946---- [early 1946]
VWL4111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560301 March 1st 1956.
VWL2936 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19481216 16th December, 1948.
VWL3601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19571029 October 29th 1957
VWL2032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19460409 April 9 [1946]
VWL1283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19380313 March 13 [1938]

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