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
VWL1833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19431225 Xmas Day [1943]
VWL2938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19481229 29th December, 1948.
VWL2024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19451226 Dec 26 [1945]
VWL2780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19480729 29th July, 1948.
VWL3052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19491228 28th December, 1949.
VWL2154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19470212 Feb 12 [1947]
VWL1113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361226 [26th December 1936]
VWL1159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19370307 March 7 [1937]
VWL4362 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480907 September 7 [1948]
VWL4370 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490903 September 3 [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]
VWL4365 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19490607 June 7 [1949]
VWL4379 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501226 Dec 26 [1950]
VWL4377 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500503 May 3 [1950]
VWL1212 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370908 Wednesday smorn [8th September 1937]
VWL1211 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370907 Tuesday aftn [7th September 1937]
VWL4674 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mrs Lock 19421025 October 25, [1942]
VWL4361 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Watts 19480702 July 2 [1948]
VWL4356 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Watts 19480310 March 10 [1948]
VWL4371 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19490909 Friday [9 Sep 1949]
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL4414 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130118 Friday, [18 January, 1913]
VWL1783 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 194712-- Friday [December 1947]
VWL1635 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 194205-- [?May 1942]
VWL2514 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19480104 January 4 [1948]
VWL1131 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 193310-- [about October 1933]

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