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
VWL3862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19380520 [about 20 May 1938]
VWL3876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19360226 [Late February 1936]
VWL3882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 194----- Wed. [1940s?]
VWL3893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930]
VWL3879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL3834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930]
VWL3847 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930s?]
VWL3869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1934---- Sunday [1934]
VWL2181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470513 [13th May 1947]
VWL1525 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19410225 Sat. [25th February 1941]
VWL1778 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194703-- [Early March 1947]
VWL3933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19371125 [late November 1937]
VWL3951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530712 July 12th 1953.
VWL5187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Corbett 19470531 31 May 1947
VWL1298 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19380426 April 26 [1938?]
VWL984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19361006 [About 6th October 1936]
VWL2713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19530825 Aug 25 [1953]
VWL4471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19341017 [17 Oct 1934]
VWL660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290223 Feb 23 [1929]
VWL1779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Irving 194703-- [Early March 1947]
VWL824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 192903-- [March 1929]
VWL516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19230528 28/5/23
VWL134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 190306-- [About June 1903]
VWL758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19360714 July 14th [1936]
VWL632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19260701 July 1 [1926]
VWL1225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390918 [18 September 1939]
VWL1417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19400420 [20 April 1940]
VWL2953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19490217 17th February, 1949.
VWL1219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390731 [31 July 1939]
VWL858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19300622 [22nd June 1930]

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