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
VWL3153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19490814 [14] Aug [1949]
VWL3179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19490611 June 11 [1949]
VWL4103 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19381129 Nov 29 [1938?]
VWL4202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530211 11th February, 1953
VWL4545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530204 4th February, 1953
VWL4101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1938---- [?1938]
VWL4544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL4104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 193812-- Dec. [1938?]
VWL4201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19530201 [1 February, 1953]
VWL4537 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL4505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 193710-- [October 1937]
VWL4512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19411016 Oct 16 [1941?]
VWL4203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 195302-- [February, 1953]
VWL689 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19291006 [6th October 1929]
VWL726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19350607 June 6 [1935]
VWL727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350607 [7th June 1935]
VWL1249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss at Oxford University Press 19371025 [25th October 1937]
VWL1170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL1765 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 1948---- [1948]
VWL2069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19500726 26th July, 1950
VWL2188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19510207 7th February 1951
VWL2338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19471015 15th October, 1947.
VWL1964 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19451014 Oct 14 [1945]
VWL2284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19511017 17th October, 1951.
VWL2131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19461014 Oct 14 [1946]
VWL2834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19481014 14th December [i.e. October], 1948.
VWL3134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19491013 13th October, 1949.
VWL776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19350910 Tuesday [10th September 1935]
VWL806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19351018 [18 October 1935]
VWL1141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Fisher 19370202 Tuesday [2nd February 1937]

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