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
VWL3026 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19390113 [13 Jan 1939]
VWL4032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19300517 May 17 [1930s]
VWL4392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evangeline Farrer 19460308 March 8th [about 1946?]
VWL4222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400223 Feb 23rd [1940]
VWL1385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400214 Feb 14 [1940]
VWL1407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19381113 Nov 13 [1938]
VWL4223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400821 August 21 [1940]
VWL4228 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19401010 Oct 10 [1940]
VWL4224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400828 August 28 [1940]
VWL4227 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400504 May 4th [1940]
VWL4229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19470509 [9 May 1947]
VWL4665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350504 May 4 [1935]
VWL4666 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350310 March 10 [1935]
VWL4667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350714 July 14 [1935]
VWL1483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19401231 Dec 31 [1940]
VWL1866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL1621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elisabeth Lutyens 19391106 Nov 6 [1939]
VWL1473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401125 Nov 25 [1940?]
VWL472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19210401 1/4/21
VWL1474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19401203 3rd December 1940
VWL333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191101-- [Early 1911]
VWL557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19240605 [c. September 1924]
VWL1500 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 194010-- [October 1940]
VWL4574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Schneeweiss 1942---- Oct 18 [1942?]
VWL1523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390306 March 6 [1939]
VWL2838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19481022 Oct 22/48
VWL1609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director-General (BBC) 19391018 Oct. 18 [1939]
VWL417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Stanley Smith 19350414 [14th April 1935]
VWL1394 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Jones 19400406 April 6th [1940]
VWL5149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19280918 [18/9/1928]

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