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
VWL4734 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 19520730 30th July, 1952.
VWL4733 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 19500915 Sept 15 [early 1950s]
VWL4732 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 1950---- [early 1950s]
VWL4731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Dickinson 19521015 Oct 15 [1952]
VWL4730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Dickinson 19511016 Oct 16 [1951]
VWL4729 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Dickinson 19501015 Oct 15 [1950]
VWL4728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Dickinson 19491013 13th October, 1949.
VWL4727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to K.J. Burrell 19580328 March 28th 1958.
VWL4726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Kirby 19471022 22nd October, 1947.
VWL4725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Douglas 1937---- [March 1937?]
VWL4724 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Wadham 193703-- Tuesday [March 1937]
VWL4723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Douglas 1937---- [Spring 1937]
VWL4722 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Wadham 19361102 Monday [2 November 1936]
VWL4719 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Pitt 1920---- [1920s?]
VWL4718 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Pitt 1915---- [c.1915-1916]
VWL4717 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Malcolm Sargent 19480930 30th September, 1948.
VWL4716 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Field-Hyde 1955---- [about 1955]
VWL4715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Field-Hyde 19570407 April 7th 1957.
VWL4712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 193-0213 Feb 13 193?
VWL4711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Thackeray 19400831 Aug 31 1940
VWL4710 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4709 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4708 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Victoria University of Wellington 19571118 November 18th 1957.
VWL4705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193203-- [shortly after 16 March, 1932]
VWL4701 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19271001 [late September/early October 1927]
VWL4700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 1930---- [1930s?]
VWL4698 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George McCleary 1920---- [1920s?]
VWL4697 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270729 July 29 [1927]
VWL4696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Mackay 19571017 [17 Oct 1957]

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