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
VWL4218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin & Joan Shaw 19541014 Oct 14 [1954]
VWL3041 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 1925---- [1925]
VWL3247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 193---- Wed [1939]
VWL3011 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 192----- [1920s]
VWL3248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19390518 [May 18 1939]
VWL4612 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 1935---- Sunday [Spring 1935?]
VWL4611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19220201 [1 Feb 1922]
VWL4691 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19390524 May 23 [1939]
VWL2182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19220803 3/8/22
VWL3040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 193----- [1930s]
VWL4613 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19371230 [30 Dec 1937]
VWL3249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19380126 [26 Jan 1938]
VWL4577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Edwards Park 19330311 March 11th 1935
VWL4439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marie Stopes 19470224 Feb 24 [1947]
VWL2820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19540511 May 11 [1954]
VWL2821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19540511 May 11 1954
VWL4694 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19580202 [2nd February 1958]
VWL5205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Vaughan Williams 18891015 [15 October 1889]
VWL820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Ritchie 192810-- [October 1928]
VWL450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Longman 19190606 6/6/19
VWL1919 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Keynes 19440603 June 3 [1944]
VWL631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Keynes 19280612 June 12 [1928?]
VWL1576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret James 19390722 July 22 [1939]
VWL4716 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Field-Hyde 1955---- [about 1955]
VWL4715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Field-Hyde 19570407 April 7th 1957.
VWL4717 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19480930 30th September, 1948.
VWL4776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 1949---- Sunday [1949?]
VWL4760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19541124 November 24th 1954.
VWL4774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 1943---- Oct 15 [after 1943]
VWL4297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19551007 October 7th 1955.

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