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
VWL3712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340205 Monday [February 5 1934]
VWL4431 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19331226 Dec 26 [1933]
VWL4873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19370506 [6 May 1937]
VWL4862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1949---- [late 1940s?]
VWL4900 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193812-- [December 1938]
VWL4823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321225 Xmas 1932
VWL4813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193006-- [June 1930]
VWL4806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1929---- [1929]
VWL4586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Windley 19520820 20th August, 1952
VWL1715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Shott 19421022 Oct 22 1942
VWL4344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL4345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19521226 Dec 26 [1952]
VWL4347 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19521013 October 13 1952.
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]
VWL1858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19440108 Jan 8 [1944]
VWL1970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19500104 4 January, 1950.
VWL1467 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19401102 Nov 2 [1940]
VWL1470 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19401104 Nov 4 [1940]
VWL1472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19401120 Nov 20 [1940]
VWL1860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19440118 Jan 18 [1944]
VWL3168 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490803 3rd. August, 1949.
VWL1795 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19430731 July 31 [1943]
VWL1799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19430815 Aug 15 [1943]
VWL3113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19491109 9th November, 1949.
VWL1864 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19440213 Feb 13 [1944]
VWL3152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490817 17th August, 1949.
VWL3162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Glasgow 19490810 10th August, 1949.

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