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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3456 Letter from Michael Tippett to Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams 19561229 29th Dec. 1956
VWL2612 Letter from Michael Kennedy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530118 Sunday, Jan 18th, 1953.
VWL3552 Letter from Michael and Eslyn Kennedy to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571231 Dec.31, 1957.
VWL287 Letter from Max Bruch to Ralph Vaughan Williams 18971031 31.10.97
VWL202 Letter from Max Bruch to Ralph Vaughan Williams 18980205 5 February 1898
VWL3651 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310720 20 July 1931.
VWL3654 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19361207 7.12.36.
VWL3655 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310618 18 June 1931.
VWL598 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19260112 12 January 1926
VWL3653 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310602 26 June 1931.
VWL3711 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 193106-- [June 1931?]
VWL845 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19300303 3.3.30
VWL3374 Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19580216 Feb 16th 1958
VWL4096 Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19270712 12th July, 1927.
VWL4499 Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19280322 22nd March, 1928.
VWL4110 Letter from Martin Shaw to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19281005 5th October, 1928
VWL768 Letter from Marion Scott to Adeline Vaughan Williams 19350819 Aug. 19th 1935
VWL3714 Letter from Margot Fonteyn to Vaughan Williams Memorial subscribers 195903-- March, 1959
VWL520 Letter from Margaret Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19231011 Thursday Oct: 11th 1923
VWL3160 Letter from Margaret Dean-Smith to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19461104 4th November, 1946.
VWL568 Letter from Madelon Coates to Percy Scholes 19240828 Aug: 28th 1924
VWL2881 Letter from Luther Noss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19541028 October 28, 1954
VWL638 Letter from Lucy Broadwood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19281101 [About 1st November 1928]
VWL488 Letter from Lucy Broadwood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220129 Jan. 29. 1922
VWL4079 Letter from Lionel Tertis to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19291024 Oct-24-29
VWL3037 Letter from Lewis Crow to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530806 6th August, 1953.
VWL3036 Letter from Lewis Crow to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530721 21st July, 1953.
VWL3909 Letter from LeRoy Van Hoesen, jr to Olin Downes 19550527 May 27, 1955
VWL800 Letter from Laurence Irving to Joan Western 19350928 28.9.35
VWL822 Letter from Lady Wimborne to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19351212 December 12th l935

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