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
VWL2566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19530119 Jan 19th 1953
VWL2644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19530208 8.2.53
VWL2202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510308 March 8 [1951]
VWL2212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510409 April 9 [1951]
VWL5161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541106 Nov 6th [1954]
VWL2347 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 195112-- [?1951]
VWL2631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19530201 Sunday, February 1st. 1953
VWL2222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510502 [2nd May 1951]
VWL2231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510513 [13th May 1951]
VWL5159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541102 1954 Nov 2
VWL5162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541111 November 11th 1954.
VWL2053 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510717 [17 July 1951]
VWL2355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19520116 16th January, 1952
VWL2494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19521014 Oct 14 [1942]
VWL3115 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541225 Xmas 1954
VWL5160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541103 1954 NOV 3
VWL2066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19500719 19th July 1950
VWL2235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510516 [16th May 1951]
VWL5164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19541126 Nov 26 1954
VWL2349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19520109 9th January, 1952.
VWL4739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19391206 Dec 6th [1939]
VWL4742 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL4743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19490212 Feb 12 [1949?]
VWL4744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 194-1210 Dec 10 [1940s?]
VWL4748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19470730 30th July, 1947.
VWL4749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL4750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19501018 18th October, 1950
VWL4741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19451004 Oct 4 [1945]
VWL4751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19520213 13th February, 1952
VWL4754 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19540711 July 11th 1954.

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