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
VWL4833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19150808 Aug 8th 1915
VWL4835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 194601-- [?January, 1946]
VWL4837 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19460308 March 8 [1946?]
VWL4834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19460130 January 30 [1946]
VWL4874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19490105 5th January, 1949.
VWL4832 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19521015 [ca 15 October, 1952]
VWL4875 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19481205 December 5 [1948]
VWL4876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19490119 19th January, 1949.
VWL3099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clifford Gillam (Arnold Bax Society) 19550629 June 29th 1955.
VWL4583 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christovam Pavia 19501123 23rd November, 1950.
VWL4769 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Shaw 19521012 October 12th, 1952
VWL4357 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Shaw 19460715 July 15 [1946]
VWL3497 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 195603-- [About March 1956]
VWL4118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19510522 [22 May, 1951]
VWL4122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19501018 18th October, 1950.
VWL4126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19420510 May 10 [1942]
VWL4128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19430913 September 13 [1943]
VWL4132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192701-- Sunday, [January, ?1927]
VWL4133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19270113 Jan 13 [?1927]
VWL4121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19501025 25th October, 1950.
VWL4131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19261108 Nov 8 [1926?]
VWL4135 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 1933---- [1933?]
VWL4181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19451015 Oct 15 [ca 1945]
VWL4130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19430908 August 9 [1943?]
VWL4134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192711-- [?November, 1927]
VWL4136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 1943---- [?1943]
VWL4137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19461107 Nov 7 [1946]
VWL4140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 1933---- [?1933]
VWL4141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19330924 Sep 24 [?1933]
VWL4143 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19350425 April 25 [?1935]

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