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
VWL1307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19380611 June 11 [1938]
VWL1216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19370921 September 21 [1937]
VWL4476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19400927 Sept 27 [about 1940?]
VWL4474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19370212 February 12 [1937]
VWL3986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to F.W. Evans 19050306 6 March 1905
VWL3023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370601 June 1 [1937]
VWL3016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370722 22 July [1937]
VWL3015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370321 March 21 [1937]
VWL660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290223 Feb 23 [1929]
VWL1140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19370131 January 31 [1937].
VWL969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311106 Nov 6 1931
VWL4703 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311213 Dec 13 [1931]
VWL945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19360522 Friday [22nd May 1936]
VWL617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270726 July 26th [1927]
VWL657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290127 27th January 1929
VWL831 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19351224 Dec 24 [1935]
VWL839 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300119 Sunday Jan. 19: 1930
VWL853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300408 April 8 [1930]
VWL4702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311213 December 13 [1931]
VWL711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19291217 Dec 17 [1929]
VWL856 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300413 Sunday [April 13 1930]
VWL620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 Sep 23 [1927]
VWL621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 [23rd September 1927]
VWL4699 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270926 September 26 1927
VWL4034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19311022 Oct 22 [1931]
VWL4032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19300517 May 17 [1930s]
VWL4033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19300911 September 11 [1930]
VWL4386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evangeline Farrer 19400303 March 3 [1940]
VWL4627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 193511-- [November 1935]
VWL4629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 19380530 Monday [30 May 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