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
VWL4062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194109-- [September] 1941
VWL4063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194110-- [October] 1941
VWL4064 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Misses Piper 194112-- [December] 1941
VWL4042 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Lewis Crow 19511016 Oct 16 [1952?]
VWL4069 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420808 Aug 8th [1942]
VWL4061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194107-- [July] 1941
VWL4065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420413 April 13 [1942]
VWL4066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420424 April 24 [1942]
VWL4060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19410711 July 11 1941
VWL4071 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 1941---- [1941?]
VWL4067 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194204-- [April] 1942
VWL4070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 1942---- [1942]
VWL4072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19440921 21 Sept 1944
VWL4068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 194206-- [June] 1942
VWL3031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs Crow 19530420 20th April, 1953.
VWL3034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs Crow 19530513 13th May,1953.
VWL3033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19530513 13th May, 1953.
VWL3032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19530422 April 22nd. 1953.
VWL3038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19531025 October 25th 1953.
VWL4038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19420424 April 24 [1942]
VWL4039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19400529 May 29 [1940]
VWL4040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19400604 June 4 [1940]
VWL4037 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 1942---- [about 1942]
VWL4041 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19510521 21 May 1951
VWL4036 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to L.W. Wale 19311022 October 22 [1931]
VWL4044 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Kreibich 19441224 [Christmas 1944]
VWL4043 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Kreibich 19421012 Oct 12 [1944?]
VWL4034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19311022 Oct 22 [1931]
VWL4032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19300517 May 17 [1930s]
VWL4033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19300911 September 11 [1930]

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