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
VWL861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300712 [12th July 1930]
VWL876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19301105 [5th November 1930]
VWL1379 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19400127 Jan 27 [1940]
VWL1536 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19410516 [16th May 1941]
VWL1583 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19411102 Nov 2d [?1941]
VWL1647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194-0619 Saturday [not long before 20 June 194-]
VWL1653 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1945---- [?1945]
VWL1763 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL1801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430822 [22nd August 1943]
VWL1802 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430917 17.9.43
VWL1827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194711-- November, 1947
VWL2331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511218 18th December, 1951.
VWL2376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520312 12th March, 1952.
VWL2410 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520522 22nd May, 1952.
VWL2617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530122 January 22nd 1953.
VWL2648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530213 [13th February 1953]
VWL3170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490714 14th July, 1949.
VWL2489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joy Finzi 19521014 October 14th 1952.
VWL2629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joy Finzi 19530201 [1st February 1953]
VWL5224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Sternfeld 19551002 October 2nd 1955
VWL1586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19411112 Nov 12 [1941]
VWL1597 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Acland Allen 19411207 Dec 7th [1941]
VWL3126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19510521 [21 May 1951]
VWL3314 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL3434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19561013 October 13th 1956.
VWL3620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19480219 19th February, 1948.
VWL3643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195----- [1950s?]
VWL2970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19490316 16th March, 1949.
VWL2206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19510316 16th March, 1951.
VWL3397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560506 May 6th 1956.

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