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
VWL4337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531018 October 18th 1953.
VWL4372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19490914 Sept 14 1949
VWL4338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530912 [September 12 1953]
VWL4342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530408 April 8th [1953]
VWL4892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19260720 July 20 [1927]
VWL1334 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19380710 July 10, 1938
VWL2510 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19471226 Dec 26 [1947]
VWL2575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19480304 4th March, 1948
VWL4891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19350607 June 7 [1940s?]
VWL741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 1927---- [1927?]
VWL4890 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 194----- [1940s?]
VWL2399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19471017 Oct 17 1947
VWL4350 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19520611 11th June, 1952.
VWL4351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19520416 16th April, 1952.
VWL4354 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19511012 12th October, 1951.
VWL4346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary and Victor Sheppard 19521126 November 26th [1952]
VWL345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191401-- [Jan 1914?]
VWL4083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19240103 [?3 January, 1924]
VWL4091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19201014 15 October, 1920
VWL4094 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 193208?? [?August, 1932]
VWL4302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19131222 22 December, 1913
VWL4316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19141013 13 October, 1914
VWL4319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191905-- [May, 1919]
VWL4321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1905---- [between 1905-November, 1907]
VWL4382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1910---- [ca 1910]
VWL4416 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130208 [8 February, 1913]
VWL4421 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19571215 December 15th 1957
VWL4510 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19410521 May 21 [1941?]
VWL4511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1941---- [1941?]
VWL4519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440125 Jan 24 [1944]

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