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
VWL2144 Letter from Robert Longman to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19461225 Christmas Day 1946, 6 P.M.
VWL486 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 192001-- [?January 1920]
VWL2252 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19510608 [8th June 1951]
VWL3167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19490805 Friday [5th August 1949]
VWL2572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musical Times 19480227 February 27th. 1948.
VWL454 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Handel Society 19191107 7/11/19
VWL2234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19510515 [15 May 1951]
VWL1835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19441226 Dec 26 [1944]
VWL2917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rebecca Müller-Hartmann 19510512 12 May 1951
VWL260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189805-- [May or June 1898]
VWL261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189905-- [May 1899]
VWL105 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1901---- [1901?]
VWL106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190204-- [April 1902?]
VWL176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1903120- [Early December 1903]
VWL263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189906-- [June 1899]
VWL346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19140214 [14th February 1914]
VWL201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189802-- [February 1898]
VWL207 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19060806 [6th August 1906]
VWL1780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 194704-- [?Spring 1947]
VWL204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19090320 [20th March 1909]
VWL254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189709-- [September 1897]
VWL210 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19061005 [5th October 1906]
VWL153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190708-- [?Summer 1907]
VWL154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190710-- ?October 1907]
VWL2227 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19510510 May 10 [1951]
VWL4859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19510520 May 20 [1951]
VWL4853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19320617 June 17 [1932?]
VWL2241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Young 19510520 [20th May 1951]
VWL501 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Scholes 19220713 July 13 [1922]
VWL3045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Parry Jones 19510513 13 May 1951

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