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
VWL2014 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19500705 5th July, 1950.
VWL5003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Brooke at Novello & Co. 19500628 28th June, 1950.
VWL2008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19500628 28th June, 1950.
VWL2000 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19500603 June 3 [1950]
VWL1976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19500201 1st. February, 1950.
VWL3643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195----- [1950s?]
VWL3112 Contribution to a party game 19491110 [10 November 1949]
VWL3118 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19491106 November 6 [1949]
VWL1852 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ursula Wood 194911-- [November 1949?]
VWL3132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19491018 Tuesday [18th October 1949]
VWL3138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19491005 5th October, 1949.
VWL3149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy & Gerald Finzi 19490911 [11th September 1949]
VWL3150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19490909 [9th September 1949]
VWL3170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490714 14th July, 1949.
VWL3172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490706 6th July, 1949.
VWL3177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490622 22nd. June, 1949
VWL3021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490608 8th June, 1949
VWL3020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490605 June 5/49
VWL2984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19490419 April 19th, 1949
VWL2977 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490330 March 30 [1949]
VWL2970 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19490316 16th March, 1949.
VWL3642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19490128 28th Jan. 1949
VWL2940 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490106 January 6 [1949]
VWL1769 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 1949---- Sunday [1948-9]
VWL2939 Letter from Adeline Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19481230 December 30 [1948]
VWL3618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19481216 16th December 1948
VWL2931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19481211 Dec 11 [1948]
VWL3619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19480923 23rd September, 1948.
VWL2599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.L. Boston 19480519 19th May, 1948
VWL4971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning 19480429 29th April, 1948.

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