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
VWL3443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19561025 October 25th 1956.
VWL3506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560321 [21 March, 1956]
VWL3568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19571108 Nov 8 1957
VWL2794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560225 Feb 25 [1956]
VWL2886 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19541116 [16 November, 1954]
VWL3441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19561021 October 21st 1956.
VWL3508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195804-- [April 1958]
VWL3592 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19571016 October 16th 1957.
VWL3618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19481216 16th December 1948
VWL3619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19480923 23rd September, 1948.
VWL3621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19470807 7th August, 1947.
VWL3642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19490128 28th Jan. 1949
VWL3138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19491005 5th October, 1949.
VWL3640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 1946---- [1946]
VWL3639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19471008 8th October, 1947
VWL3644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19460828 Aug 28 [1946]
VWL3357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund and Antoinette Rubbra 19560722 July 22nd 1956.
VWL1105 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19331022 Oct 22d [after 1933]
VWL3660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19540924 Sept 24th [1954]
VWL3665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19571015 October 15th 1957
VWL3659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19530107 Jan 7 [1953]
VWL3661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19541026 26th October 1954
VWL3664 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19570822 22 August 1957
VWL3657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19521210 [About 10th December 1952]
VWL3662 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550112 Jan 12 [1955]
VWL3658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19411016 16th October 1941
VWL3955 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Meyrick Broadley 1910---- [about 1910]
VWL4970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Maud Karpeles to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19400803 3 August 1940.
VWL3663 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550914 Sept 14th 1955
VWL4539 Letter from Ralph and Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald and Joyce Finzi 19510221 Feb 21 [1951]

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