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
VWL289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980303 [3] March 1898
VWL202 Letter from Max Bruch to Ralph Vaughan Williams 18980205 5 February 1898
VWL201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189802-- [February 1898]
VWL230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1898---- [1898?]
VWL234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1898---- [1898?]
VWL231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1898---- [Late 1898]
VWL235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1898---- [1898?]
VWL4458 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1898---- Tuesday [early summer 1898?]
VWL232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1898---- [?Late1898 (or early 1899)]
VWL257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189712-- [December 1897?]
VWL288 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 18971129 29.XI.97
VWL256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189711-- XI.97
VWL287 Letter from Max Bruch to Ralph Vaughan Williams 18971031 31.10.97
VWL286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971027 October 27, l897
VWL285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 18971015 [Mid October 1897]
VWL284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971013 Wednesday, October 13 1897
VWL203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189710-- [Early October 1897]
VWL253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189709-- [September 1897]
VWL252 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189709-- [September 1897]
VWL254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189709-- [September 1897]
VWL247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 189707-- [July 1897]
VWL244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 189707-- [July 1897]
VWL245 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 189707-- [July 1897]
VWL251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Laura Vaughan Williams 189707-- [July 1897]
VWL283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 18970610 [Just after 10 June 1897]
VWL243 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189706-- [Later June 1897]
VWL255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fredegond and Ermengard Maitland 1897---- [September 1897]
VWL282 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 18960831 [31 August 1896]
VWL242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189605-- [?May 1896]
VWL229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1896---- [1896?]

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