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
VWL1521 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19410216 February 16th [1941]
VWL1595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391003 October 3 [1939]
VWL748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A. Wynn (BBC) 19350626 June 26 [1935]
VWL4547 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to a representative of the British Legion 19231019 October 19 [1923]
VWL4035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams for the Coldharbour parish magazine 19311022 [22 October 1931]
VWL4539 Letter from Ralph and Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joyce Finzi 19510221 Feb 21 [1951]
VWL4362 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480907 September 7 [1948]
VWL4368 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490722 July 22 [1949]
VWL4370 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490903 September 3 [1949]
VWL4373 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19491028 October 28 [1949]
VWL3770 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480523 May 23 1948
VWL4359 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19471029 October 29 [1947]
VWL4360 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19471206 December 6 [1947]
VWL4363 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490128 Jan 28 [1949]
VWL4358 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480210 Feb 10 [1948]
VWL4364 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490505 May 5 [1949]
VWL4365 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490607 June 7 [1949]
VWL4378 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500815 August 15 [1950]
VWL4379 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501226 Dec 26 [1950]
VWL3771 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19490421 April 21 1949
VWL3772 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500726 July 26 1950
VWL4377 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500503 May 3 [1950]
VWL4553 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19130825 August 25 [1913?]
VWL4669 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19411127 Nov 27 [1941]
VWL1632 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19420211 Feb 11 [1942]
VWL1837 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194902-- Tuesday morning [February 1948]
VWL430 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19170522 May 22 [1917]
VWL429 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19170409 April 9th [1917]
VWL298 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18991231 31st December [1899]
VWL4454 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980421 April 21st [1898]

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