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
VWL411 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19141009 [9th October 1914]
VWL410 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141008 [c.8th October 1914]
VWL409 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141001 [About 1 October 1914]
VWL407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 19140710 July 10th [1914]
VWL406 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19140701 [1 July 1914 ]
VWL405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140527 May 27 [1914]
VWL404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19140514 May 14th 1914
VWL403 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19140717 July 17 [1914]
VWL402 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140514 May 14th [1914]
VWL401 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140511 May 11th [1914]
VWL400 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19140510 May 10th 1914
VWL399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19140415 15th April 1914
VWL398 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 19140406 April 6th [1914]
VWL397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19140404 [About 4th April 1914]
VWL396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19140401 [About 1st April 1914]
VWL392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Athelstan Riley 19140211 February 11 1914
VWL388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 19131103 [About 3 November 1913]
VWL386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19130122 [22 January 1913]
VWL383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19120530 May 30th [1912]
VWL381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19120118 [18th January 1912]
VWL380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19120119 Jan 19th [1912]
VWL379 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19120104 Jan 4th 1912
VWL378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19111231 [31st December 1911]
VWL376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19111118 [About 18th November 1911]
VWL375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19111110 Nov 10th [1911]
VWL374 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19111106 Nov.6.11
VWL373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19110708 [8th July 1911]
VWL372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19110617 [17th June 1911]
VWL369 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110429 Apr. 29/11
VWL368 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19110425 April 25th [1911]

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