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
VWL3867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193505-- [May 1935]
VWL1201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19370806 Aug 6th 1937
VWL1204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19370816 Aug 16th [1937]
VWL731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350608 [8th June 1935]
VWL2648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530213 [13th February 1953]
VWL3062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491123 November 23 [1949]
VWL3078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491116 November 16 [1949]
VWL3114 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491109 9th November, 1949
VWL1148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 193111-- [After October 1931]
VWL3026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19390113 [13 Jan 1939]
VWL546 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 193506-- [June 1935]
VWL2970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19490316 16th March, 1949.
VWL843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19300211 [11th February 1930]
VWL721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL4841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Van Dieren 19300130 January 30 [1930]
VWL723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL967 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Bax 19311105 [About 5th November 1931]
VWL2362 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19520202 2nd February, 1952.
VWL2610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19530110 January 10th 1953.
VWL4726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Kirby 19471022 22nd October, 1947.
VWL2881 Letter from Luther Noss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19541028 October 28, 1954
VWL2255 Letter from Hubert Foss to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19510620 20th June, 1951
VWL642 Letter from H.G. Fiedler to Ralph Vaughan Williams 193707-- [July 1937]
VWL733 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19350608 June 8th [1935]
VWL717 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19350603 June 3 [1935]

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