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
VWL274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350326 March 26 [1935]
VWL272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350316 March 16 [1935]
VWL261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189905-- [May 1899]
VWL257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 189712-- [December 1897?]
VWL250 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350309 March 9 [1935]
VWL246 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19350301 March 1 [1935]
VWL240 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350219 Feb 19 [1935]
VWL239 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19350214 Feb 14 [1934 or 1935]
VWL233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 189903-- [March 1899]
VWL211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19061010 [10th October 1906]
VWL208 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19060911 September 11 [1906]
VWL199 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19050531 May 31st [1905]
VWL198 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19050428 April 28th [1905]
VWL190 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19050201 [1st February 1905]
VWL185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director of ‘English Dance Players’ 19350114 January 14 [1935]
VWL181 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19030616 June 16 [1903]
VWL178 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19010325 March 25th [1901]
VWL175 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19011028 October 28th [1901]
VWL158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190801-- [January 1908]
VWL142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19060820 [20 August 1906]
VWL138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190603-- [?March 1906]
VWL137 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19000424 April 24th [1900]
VWL132 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19001201 December 1st [1900]
VWL131 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19001004 Thursday [October 4 1900]
VWL127 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19010108 Jan 8th. [1901]
VWL120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1899---- [1899?]
VWL118 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1899---- Wednesday [1899?]
VWL107 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19011227 December 27th [1901]

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