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
VWL4240 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19551228 December 28th 1955
VWL4239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19551030 October 30th 1955.
VWL4238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19550620 June 20 [1955]
VWL4237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19550615 June 15th 1955.
VWL4236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19541030 October 30 [1954]
VWL4221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540711 July 11th 1954.
VWL4219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540715 [between 11-19, July, 1954]
VWL4218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin & Joan Shaw 19541014 Oct 14 [1954]
VWL4210 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540118 January 18th 1954.
VWL4208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL4206 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530902 Sept 2nd 1953
VWL4205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19520520 20 May [1952]
VWL4203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 195302-- [February, 1953]
VWL4202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19530211 11th February, 1953
VWL4201 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19530201 [1 February, 1953]
VWL4200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19580214 February 14th 1958.
VWL4197 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195808-- [August, 1958]
VWL4196 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570729 July 29th, [1957]
VWL4195 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL4194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 195607-- [July, 1956]
VWL4193 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19571022 October 22nd 1957.
VWL4192 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560718 July 18th. [1956]
VWL4190 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19570321 March 21st [1957]
VWL4189 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19561227 December 27th
VWL4188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19561211 December 11th 1956.
VWL4187 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19560821 August 21st 1956
VWL4104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 193812-- Dec. [1938?]
VWL4103 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19381129 Nov 29 [1938?]
VWL4101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1938---- [?1938]
VWL4095 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr and Mrs Martin Shaw 193506-- [June 1935]

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