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.

Searching:
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
VWL5100 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19560911 [11 September, 1956]
VWL4578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Macaulay Trevelyan 19490525 25th May, 1949.
VWL3966 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1895---- [1895?]
VWL3431 Letter from George Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19561008 Oct. 8. 1956
VWL3289 Letter from G.M. Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560216 Feb. 16. 1956
VWL2984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19490419 April 19th, 1949
VWL2799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 19540314 March 14th 1954
VWL2174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Veronica Wedgwood 19510117 17th January, 1951.
VWL1459 Letter from G.M. Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19401008 Oct 8 1940
VWL1157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193106-- [?June 1931]
VWL962 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19311102 Nov 2d [1931]
VWL609 Letter from Robert Longman to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19260617 June 17 l926
VWL285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 18971015 [Mid October 1897]
VWL270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189812-- [December ?1898]
VWL263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189906-- [June 1899]
VWL261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189905-- [May 1899]
VWL136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190407-- [July 1904]
VWL126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190012-- [Dec 1900?]
VWL106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190204-- [April 1902?]

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