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
VWL4532 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL4531 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19481226 Dec 26 [1948?]
VWL4530 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 27th December, 1947.
VWL4529 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19480120 Jan 20 [1948?]
VWL4528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19471031 Oct 31 [1947?]
VWL4527 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19470921 Sept 21 1947
VWL4526 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19470522 Sunday [22 May, 1947]
VWL4525 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1946-- [November, 1946]
VWL4524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19461014 Oct 14 [1946?]
VWL4523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19450209 Feb 9 [1945?]
VWL4522 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19441226 December 26 [1944]
VWL4521 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440813 Aug 13 [1944]
VWL4520 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440314 March 14 [1944]
VWL4519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440125 Jan 24 [1944]
VWL4518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19440117 Jan 17 1944
VWL4517 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19431205 Dec 5 [1943?]
VWL4516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19431020 Oct 20th [1943]
VWL4515 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19411019 Oct 19 [1941?]
VWL4514 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1943---- [1943]
VWL4513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin and Joan Shaw 19421028 28 October, 1942
VWL4512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 19411016 Oct 16 [1941?]
VWL4511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1941---- [1941?]
VWL4510 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19410521 May 21 [1941?]
VWL4509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19410515 May 15 [1941?]
VWL4508 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19410428 April 28 [1941?]
VWL4507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19410211 Feb 11 [1941?]
VWL4506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1940---- Monday [ca 1940]
VWL4505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 193710-- [October 1937]
VWL4504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1935---- [1935]
VWL4503 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1935---- [ca 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