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
VWL4529 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19480120 Jan 20 [1948?]
VWL4503 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL4501 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1942---- [1942]
VWL4445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19400109 Jan 9 [ca 1940]
VWL4436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1940---- [1940?]
VWL4250 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19580226 February 26th [1958]
VWL4245 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530617 June 17th [1953]
VWL4243 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19580601 June 1st. [1958]
VWL4210 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540118 January 18th 1954.
VWL4209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19531231 December 31st 1953.
VWL4199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540320 March 20th 1954.
VWL4104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 193812-- Dec. [1938?]
VWL4103 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19381129 Nov 29 [1938?]
VWL4101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1938---- [?1938]
VWL4092 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19200818 18/8/20
VWL4091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19201014 15 October, 1920
VWL4087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 192008-- [August, 1920]
VWL1211 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370907 Tuesday aftn [7th September 1937]

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