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
VWL4109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191406-- [?June 1914]
VWL4251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19580727 July 27th. 1958
VWL4291 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191506-- [May or June, 1915]
VWL4307 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1914---- [late 1914?]
VWL4315 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19140818 18 August, 1914
VWL4320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19041231 [31 December, 1904]
VWL4381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 190711-- [after November 1907]
VWL4408 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1910---- [ca 1910]
VWL4412 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191208-- [August,1912]
VWL4413 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1912---- [1912?]
VWL4447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191905-- [ca May 1919]
VWL4508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19410428 April 28 [1941?]
VWL4517 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19431205 Dec 5 [1943?]
VWL4524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19461014 Oct 14 [1946?]
VWL4541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19510429 29 April, 1951
VWL4082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19190225 25/2/19
VWL4086 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19160802 Wednesday Aug 2nd [1916]
VWL4092 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19200818 18/8/20
VWL4102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19370329 March 29 [1937?]
VWL4199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540320 March 20th 1954.
VWL4220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540702 July 2nd 1954.
VWL4298 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130113 [13 January, 1913]
VWL4299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191603-- [Spring 1916]
VWL4409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19110807 7 August, 1911
VWL4418 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19130925 [25 September, 1913]
VWL4496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 192810-- [?october, 1928]
VWL4523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19450209 Feb 9 [1945?]
VWL4530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 27th December, 1947.
VWL4077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19270708 July 8 [1927]
VWL4078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19550901 September 1st 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