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
VWL4232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19460922 Sept 22 [1946]
VWL4231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19461125 Nov 25 [1946]
VWL4230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19460918 Sept 18 [1946]
VWL4229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19470509 [9 May 1947]
VWL4228 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19401010 Oct 10 [1940]
VWL4227 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400504 May 4th [1940]
VWL4226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unknown correspondent 19530420 April 20[?] 1953
VWL4225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540911 September 11th 1954.
VWL4224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400828 August 28 [1940]
VWL4223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400821 August 21 [1940]
VWL4222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400223 Feb 23rd [1940]
VWL4221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540711 July 11th 1954.
VWL4220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540702 July 2nd 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]
VWL4217 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19480822 Aug 22 [1948]
VWL4216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19480504 May 4 [1948]
VWL4215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19470927 Sept 27 [1947]
VWL4214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19460704 July 4 [1946]
VWL4213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19380818 [18 Aug 1938]
VWL4212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 1938---- [1938]
VWL4211 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19380404 April 4 [1938]
VWL4210 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540118 January 18th 1954.
VWL4209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19531231 December 31st 1953.
VWL4208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL4207 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19530910 September 10th [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]
VWL4204 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19530728 July 28th [1953]
VWL4203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan and Martin Shaw 195302-- [February, 1953]

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