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
VWL4641 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Wilson 19571015 October 15th 1957.
VWL4219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540715 [between 11-19, July, 1954]
VWL2593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19541216 December 16th 1954
VWL5005 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James Craufurd (Madrigal Society) 19511017 17th October, 1951
VWL3117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491109 9th November, 1949
VWL1166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL2677 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530415 15th April, 1953
VWL585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19250522 [22nd May 1925]
VWL5159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541102 1954 Nov 2
VWL5164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541126 Nov 26 1954
VWL224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Darwin 19090611 June 11th [1909]
VWL3053 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19491228 28th December, 1949.
VWL4255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Florent Schmitt 191402-- [February, 1914]
VWL390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19131205 Dec. 5 [1913]
VWL978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360825 Aug 25 [1936]
VWL3660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19540924 Sept 24th [1954]
VWL3661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19541026 26th October 1954
VWL4132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192701-- Sunday, [January, ?1927]
VWL4133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19270113 Jan 13 [?1927]
VWL2883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19541104 November 4th 1954
VWL342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19131219 Dec 19th 1913
VWL2878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19541020 [About 20th October 1954]
VWL3922 Letter from Ilse to Alan Bush 19370131 31/1/37.
VWL3902 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19320415 April 15 [1932]
VWL4458 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1898---- Tuesday [early summer 1898?]
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL4318 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19150331 March 31 [1915]
VWL823 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 192810-- [October 1928]
VWL4594 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19230427 Friday [27 April 1923]
VWL355 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19220614 June 14th [1922]

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