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
VWL357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 191910-- [?about October 1919 ]
VWL455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19191123 23/11/19
VWL498 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19220627 [27th June 1922]
VWL359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19191127 27/11/19
VWL486 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 192001-- [?January 1920]
VWL500 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19220701 [1st July 1922]
VWL691 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 193703-- [?About March 1937]
VWL756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19350710 July 10 [1935]
VWL1250 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19371101 Nov 1st [1937]
VWL457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19191225 Dec 25 [1919]
VWL534 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19231021 21/10/23
VWL223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McNaught 19090722 [22 July 1909]
VWL169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McNaught 190909-- [September, 1909]
VWL170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William McNaught 19090624 June 24th [1909]
VWL4616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Glock 19551213 December 13th 1955.
VWL4564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Susskind 194-0610 June 10 [late 1940s?]
VWL4934 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Leigh 19420603 June 3rd, 1942.
VWL1209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Goodchild 19380526 May 26 1938
VWL4292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter and Edith Stanton 19521014 October 14th 1952.
VWL678 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson of the BBC 193907-- [July 1939]
VWL4977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W. Paston 19380522 Sunday [22 or 29 May 1938]
VWL4582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W. Norman Boase 19280216 Feb 16th [about 1928]
VWL4333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19540203 February 3rd 1954.
VWL2252 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19510608 [8th June 1951]
VWL4332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19540214 February 14th 1954.
VWL4355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor Sheppard 19480414 14th April, 1948.
VWL542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19501201 [4 Dec 1950]
VWL4349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19520817 August 17th 1952
VWL4376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19500103 Jan 3 [1950]
VWL4348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Victor and Mary Sheppard 19520820 20th August, 1952

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