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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19560103 Jan 3rd 1956
VWL548 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193603-- Tuesday [March 1936]
VWL4562 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Watkins Shaw 19540601 June 1st 1954
VWL4004 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Walter at the Performing Right Society 19570125 January 25th 1957
VWL4006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Walter at the Performing Right Society 19571223 December 20th 1957.
VWL4007 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Walter at the Performing Right Society 19571230 December 30th 1957.
VWL4565 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Smith 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL4052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Scull at the Performing Right Society 19530130 30th January, 1953.
VWL4030 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Scull at the Performing Right Society 19511003 3rd. October, 1951.
VWL2570 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Rutland (BBC) 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL4661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Haig-Brown 1926---- [1926-1929]
VWL4939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1910---- [1910?]
VWL4942 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19120101 1 Feb 12
VWL4946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 191306-- June 1913
VWL4947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19130723 27th July, 1913.
VWL4950 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn 1913]
VWL5001 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19420524 May 24 [1942]
VWL365 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19100715 [About 15th July 1910]
VWL4880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19400813 Aug 13 [ca 1940]
VWL4925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 191006-- [Summer, 1910]
VWL4937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110713 13 Jul. [1911]
VWL4948 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn 1913]
VWL4949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn 1913]
VWL4951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1913---- [Autumn/Winter 1913]
VWL4881 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19420511 May 11 [1942]
VWL4924 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19140804 4 August, 1914
VWL4938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1910--- [1910?]
VWL4940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19110810 [inter 7-20 August 1911]
VWL4944 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 1912---- [1912]
VWL4945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Child 19120710 [10 July, 1912]

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