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
VWL3927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eila Mackenzie 19550529 May 29th 1955.
VWL444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19180608 8/6/18
VWL872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19301026 Oct 26 [1930]
VWL1156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193104-- [April 1931]
VWL397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19140404 [About 4th April 1914]
VWL462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19200311 11/3/20
VWL496 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19220511 Thursday [11 May 1922]
VWL516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19230528 28/5/23
VWL134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 190306-- [About June 1903]
VWL538 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19231215 15/12/23
VWL758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19360714 July 14th [1936]
VWL1155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193104-- [April 1931]
VWL465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19200319 19/3/20
VWL1154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193103-- [Late March 1931]
VWL882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19301214 Sunday [14 December 1930]
VWL4555 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 1917---- [about 1917]
VWL4572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Newill 194-1116 November 16 [1940s]
VWL2230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510517 17th May, 1951
VWL1074 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward German 19330803 August 3 [1933]
VWL1056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Elgar 19330604 [About 4th June 1933]
VWL1191 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Elgar 19340219 Feb 19th [1934]
VWL740 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Clark (BBC) 1926---- [1926]
VWL1236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Clark 19340424 April 24th [1934]
VWL1134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Clark 19341011 Oct 11 [?1934]
VWL3147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.M. Tillett 19490914 14th September, 1949
VWL3275 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.A. Barber, Headmaster of Swaffham Primary School 19580710 July 10th 1958.
VWL4580 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E Winder 19230214 Feb 14th 1923
VWL4574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Schneeweiss 1942---- Oct 18 [1942?]
VWL2989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Leonard Gray 19550117 January 17th 1955.
VWL1225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390918 [18 September 1939]

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