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
VWL527 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1939---- [1939?]
VWL2035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460425 April 25 [1946]
VWL2127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460927 [27th September 1946]
VWL2129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19461008 Oct 8 [1946]
VWL2170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19470430 [30th April 1947].
VWL2295 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19511114 Nov 14 [1951]
VWL1401 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19381014 Oct 14 [1938]
VWL1504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 194103-- [March 1941]
VWL1525 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19410225 Sat. [25th February 1941]
VWL627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19280130 [30 January 1928]
VWL1700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19421013 Oct 13 [1942]
VWL1735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19421204 [4th December 1942 ]
VWL1890 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19450519 May 19 [1945]
VWL1897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19450725 July 25 [1945]
VWL1941 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19441018 Oct 18 [1944]
VWL1037 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 193303-- [March 1933]
VWL1190 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370725 Sunday [25th July 1937]
VWL1221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390823 Aug 23 [1939?]
VWL1744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19430117 Jan 17 [1943]
VWL1826 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19431222 Dec 22 [1943]
VWL1951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19441223 Dec 23 [1944]
VWL624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271118 Nov 18 [1927]
VWL731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350608 [8th June 1935]
VWL1224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390915 [15th September 1939]
VWL2021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19451122 Nov 22 [1945]
VWL2029 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460320 March 20 [1946]
VWL2033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460412 [12th April 1946]
VWL2060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 195012-- [December 1950?]
VWL2097 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19460918 [18th September 1946]
VWL2102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19501007 [7th October 1950?]

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