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
VWL3244 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 1935---- August 22 [1935?]
VWL3241 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19221103 Nov 3 [1922]
VWL2960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19490309 9th March, 1949
VWL2703 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530711 July 11th 1953.
VWL2386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19520403 3rd. April, 1952
VWL2149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470123 Jan 23 [1947]
VWL1780 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 194704-- [?Spring 1947]
VWL1628 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19420114 Jan 14 [1942]
VWL1582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19411016 Thursday [16th October 1941]
VWL1491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [July 1940]
VWL1490 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194007-- [Early July 1940]
VWL1482 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19401231 Dec 31 [1940]
VWL1449 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381211 [11th December 1938]
VWL1295 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340910 [About 10th September 1934]
VWL1293 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340906 Thurs [6th September 1934]
VWL1292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340905 Wed [5th September 1934]
VWL1239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19340506 May 6th [1934]
VWL1233 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19340404 April 4 [1934]
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL1143 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370225 Feb 25 [1937]
VWL1076 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19330804 August 4 [1933]
VWL1066 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19330720 [20th July l933]
VWL1060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19330707 July 7 [1933]
VWL1059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330705 July 5 [1933]
VWL1054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19330414 [April 14th 1933]
VWL768 Letter from Marion Scott to Adeline Vaughan Williams 19350819 Aug. 19th 1935
VWL346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19140214 [14th February 1914]
VWL204 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19090320 [20th March 1909]
VWL118 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1899---- Wednesday [1899?]
VWL106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190204-- [April 1902?]

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