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
VWL4579 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Thorpe 1930---- [1930-1934]
VWL4578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Macaulay Trevelyan 19490525 25th May, 1949.
VWL4577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Edwards Park 19330311 March 11th 1935
VWL4576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Baer 19541003 October 3rd 1954
VWL4575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Morgan 19530817 August 17th 1953
VWL4574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dr Schneeweiss 1942---- Oct 18 [1942?]
VWL4573 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Schneeweiss 1942---- Sept 28 [1942]
VWL4570 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 194----- Oct 31 [1940s?]
VWL4568 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to S.B. Lewertoff 19460317 March 17 [1946]
VWL4567 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Gerald Kelly 19521127 27th November, 1952.
VWL4566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Menges 19420913 Sept 13 [1942]
VWL4565 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Smith 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL4564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walter Susskind 194-0610 June 10 [late 1940s?]
VWL4562 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Watkins Shaw 19540601 June 1st 1954
VWL4561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Walford Davies 19360329 March 29 [1936]
VWL4559 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clive Carey 1946---- [early 1946]
VWL4558 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19430518 May 18 [1943]
VWL4557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310715 [15 July 1931]
VWL4556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19470513 13 May, 1947
VWL4555 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 1917---- [about 1917]
VWL4554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19130113 Jan 13th 1913,
VWL4551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to “Moppett” 19551226 December 26th, 1955.
VWL4549 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19390104 Jan 4, 1939
VWL4548 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Simpson 19510527 May 27 [1951]
VWL4545 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530204 4th February, 1953
VWL4544 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL4543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1952---- [1952]
VWL4542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19510511 11 May, 1951
VWL4541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19510429 29 April, 1951
VWL4538 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19501231 New years Eve

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