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
VWL5005 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James Craufurd (Madrigal Society) 19511017 17th October, 1951
VWL5006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James Craufurd (Madrigal Society) 19540909 Sept. 9 [1954]
VWL1202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James Craufurd (Madrigal Society) 19501206 6th December, 1950
VWL1124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19331207 Dec 7 [1933]
VWL591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 193704-- [late April 1937]
VWL1171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL1167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL4761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 192604-- [April, 1926?]
VWL4877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL4794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491022 October 22 [1949?]
VWL3120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491102 2nd November, 1949
VWL3117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491109 9th November, 1949
VWL4762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19300103 Jan 3d [ca 1930]
VWL4773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19351226 Dec 26 [1935?]
VWL4775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1949---- Sunday [1949?]
VWL4878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1950---- [ca 1950]
VWL3131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19491019 19th October 1949
VWL1244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19371003 Sunday [3rd October 1937]
VWL1557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390325 March 25 [1939]
VWL1213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19370919 [19th September 1937]
VWL1993 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19500511 11th May 1950
VWL2048 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19460803 Aug 3 [1946]
VWL3090 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19550521 May 21st 1955.
VWL3511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 195803-- [Early March 1958]
VWL1214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19370919 [19 September 1937]
VWL3576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19571013 Oct 13 [1957]
VWL566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Humphrey Proctor-Gregg 192406-- [June 1924]
VWL5179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hugh Percy Allen 19110310 [10 March 1911]
VWL977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foster Clark (BBC) 19360810 August 10 [1936]
VWL1332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380703 July 3 (1938)

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