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
VWL3351 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560708 July 8th 1956.
VWL3344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560627 June 27th 1956.
VWL3292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560217 February 17th 1956.
VWL3104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550724 July 24th 1955.
VWL2268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19510824 Aug 24 [1951]
VWL969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311106 Nov 6 1931
VWL856 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300413 Sunday [April 13 (I think) 1930]
VWL853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300408 April 8 [1930]
VWL842 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300202 Feb 2 or thereabouts 1930
VWL839 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300119 Sunday Jan. 19: 1930
VWL835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19300103 Jan 3/1930
VWL815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 192708-- [August 1927]
VWL795 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 192707-- [July 1927]
VWL774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Nevinson 19350908 Sep 8 [1935]
VWL711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19291217 Dec 17 [1929]
VWL658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290201 [About 1st February 1929]
VWL657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290127 27th January 1929
VWL634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19280912 [12th September 1928]
VWL621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 [23rd September 1927]
VWL620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 Sep 23 [1927]
VWL619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270818 [18th August 1927]
VWL618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270801 [Early August 1927]
VWL617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270726 July 26th [1927]

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