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
VWL3594 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Strode 19571017 [17th October 1957]
VWL4648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19530320 March 20 [1953]
VWL4649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19521203 3rd. December, 1952.
VWL4654 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19481014 Oct 14 [1948]
VWL4655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19480115 [15 January 1948]
VWL4656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19460526 [26 May 1946]
VWL4652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19490501 May 1st [1949]
VWL4646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 194903-- [March 1953]
VWL4647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 194002-- [Feb 1940]
VWL4650 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19511205 5th December 1951
VWL4651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19501206 6th December, 1950.
VWL4658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL4653 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19481208 8th December, 1948.
VWL4659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19421020 Oct 20 [1940]
VWL4481 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19540328 March 28th 1954.
VWL4487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19551003 October 3rd 1955.
VWL4479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19530817 August 17th 1953.
VWL4482 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL4488 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19580323 March 23rd 1958.
VWL1311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 195710-- [October 1957]
VWL4485 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19550529 May 29th 1955.
VWL4480 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19540103 January 3rd 1954.
VWL4484 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19550812 August 12th 1955.
VWL4489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19580306 March 6th 1958.
VWL4660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Coles 19371101 1st Nov [1937]
VWL1377 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Bush 19380925 Sept 25 [1938?]
VWL4258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19360802 August 2 [1936]
VWL4259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 193608-- [1936?]
VWL4260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19361120 [20 November 1936]
VWL4261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19361129 Nov 29 [1936?]

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