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
VWL2623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL1648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194-0620 June 20th [194-?]
VWL1660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420505 [5th May 1942]
VWL1776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194603-- [?March 1946]
VWL1947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19450904 Sept 4 [1945]
VWL1950 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19441223 Dec 23 [1944]
VWL924 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19310714 [14th July 1931]
VWL995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320104 [4th January 1932]
VWL1012 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320921 [21 September 1932]
VWL2006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19451015 Oct 15 [1945]
VWL2031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460327 March 27 [1946]
VWL2038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460505 May 5 [1946]
VWL2181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470513 [13th May 1947]
VWL2194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470619 19th June, 1947.
VWL1183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19340122 [22nd January 1934]
VWL248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350303 [3rd March 1935]
VWL868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300829 [29th August 1930]
VWL953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19360714 July 14 [?1936]
VWL625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271202 [2 December 1927]
VWL702 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350417 April 17 [1935]
VWL2578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19480312 12th March, 1948.
VWL1657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420426 [26th April 1942]
VWL1658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420521 [21st May 1942]
VWL1684 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420902 Sept 2 [1942]
VWL1879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19450313 [13th March 1945]
VWL1900 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19450803 [3rd August 1945]
VWL1935 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19440925 [25th September 1944]
VWL2007 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19451021 Oct 21 [1945]
VWL2014 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19500705 5th July, 1950.
VWL312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19231117 17/11/23

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