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
VWL322 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191003-- [Towards end of March 1910]
VWL334 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191104-- [April 1911]
VWL337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191203-- [March 1912]
VWL348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 191409-- [September 1914]
VWL401 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140511 May 11th [1914]
VWL402 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140514 May 14th [1914]
VWL405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140527 May 27 [1914]
VWL410 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141008 [c.8th October 1914]
VWL962 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19311102 Nov 2d [1931]
VWL964 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193111-- [After 2nd November 1931]
VWL2233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510515 May 15 [1951]
VWL848 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19300527 [27th May 1930]
VWL1500 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 194010-- [October 1940]
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]
VWL3126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19510521 [21 May 1951]
VWL3643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195----- [1950s?]
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]
VWL3138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19491005 5th October, 1949.
VWL3640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 1946---- [1946]
VWL3644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19460828 Aug 28 [1946]
VWL5060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edgar Stafford Arthur Herbert 19190101 January 1st 1919
VWL3147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.M. Tillett 19490914 14th September, 1949
VWL1874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.J. Dent 19450216 Feb 16 [1945]
VWL2023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.J. Dent 19451211 Dec 11 [c1945?]
VWL3275 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.A. Barber, Headmaster of Swaffham Primary School 19580710 July 10th 1958.

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