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
VWL4862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1949---- [late 1940s?]
VWL4861 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [1930s?]
VWL4860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19381220 Dec 20 [1938]
VWL4859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19510520 May 20 [1951]
VWL4858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193302-- [February 1933]
VWL4857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19350326 March 26 [1935]
VWL4856 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193-- [1933 or later]
VWL4855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 1930---- [1930s?]
VWL4854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 1935---- [late 1930s]
VWL4853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19320617 June 17 [1932?]
VWL4852 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19351230 [late December, mid 1930s]
VWL4851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193-0513 May 13 [1930s]
VWL4850 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 1933---- [1933]
VWL4849 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19290624 June 24 [1929?]
VWL4848 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19330220 [late February 1933]
VWL4847 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 1935---- [between 1933 and 1938]
VWL4846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 194309-- [September 1943]
VWL4845 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19300823 Aug 23 [1930?]
VWL4844 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19371205 Dec 5 [1937]
VWL4843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19350608 June 8 [1935]
VWL4842 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Van Dieren 193410-- Sunday [late October 1934?]
VWL4841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Van Dieren 19300130 January 30 [1930]
VWL4840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard Van Dieren 1927---- [1927?]
VWL4839 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19471008 8th October, 1947.
VWL4838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19470411 April 11 [1947]
VWL4837 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19460308 March 8 [1946?]
VWL4836 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 194601-- [before 25 January, 1946]
VWL4835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 194601-- [?January, 1946]
VWL4834 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19460130 January 30 [1946]
VWL4833 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 19150808 Aug 8th 1915

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