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.

Searching:
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
VWL3626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL3625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1931---- [1931]
VWL3624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193612-- [December 1936]
VWL3623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193612-- Dec. 1936
VWL3613 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL3612 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310607 June 7, [ca 1931]
VWL3611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL3610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19300311 March 11 [1930]
VWL3028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- Sunday [1934?]
VWL1453 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19390101 Jan 1st 1939
VWL1355 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193407-- [late July 1934]
VWL1297 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340914 [About 14th September 1934]
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]
VWL1020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321113 [About 13th November 1932]
VWL1016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321012 Wednesday [12th October 1932]
VWL746 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1927---- [1927]
VWL655 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193902-- [Early February 1939]
VWL597 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19260108 [8th January 1926]

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