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
VWL228 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 1895---- [1895?]
VWL258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 189805-- [?May 1898]
VWL2326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19471013 [13th October 1947]
VWL2396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19520416 16th April 1952
VWL1298 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19380426 April 26 [1938?]
VWL182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19040111 [11 January 1904]
VWL279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 189903-- [Early March 1899]
VWL285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 18971015 [Mid October 1897]
VWL1282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19380308 March 8 [1938]
VWL3062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491123 November 23 [1949]
VWL3078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491116 November 16 [1949]
VWL3114 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19491109 9th November, 1949
VWL2498 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19521015 Oct 15 [1952?]
VWL648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 193803-- Wednesday [March 1938?]
VWL3582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19571014 Oct 14 [1957]
VWL2603 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page and Douglas Lilburn 195210-- [October 1952]
VWL3596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page & Douglas Lilburn 19571018 Oct 18 [1957]
VWL3053 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19491228 28th December, 1949.
VWL3435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19561016 October 16th 1956.
VWL2253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19510613 [13 June 1951]
VWL2731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19531011 October 11th 1953.
VWL2136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19501227 27th December, 1950.
VWL1579 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19410905 Sep 5 [1941]
VWL1604 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19411217 Dec 17 1941
VWL1747 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19430131 January 31st [1943]
VWL1833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19431225 Xmas Day [1943]
VWL2088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19501003 Oct 3rd [1950]
VWL1135 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 1930---- [1930]
VWL1148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 193111-- [After October 1931]
VWL4324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 19510221 21st. February, 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