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
VWL3662 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19550112 Jan 12 [1955]
VWL3661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19541026 26th October 1954
VWL3660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19540924 Sept 24th [1954]
VWL3659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19530107 Jan 7 [1953]
VWL3658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19411016 16th October 1941
VWL3657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19521210 [About 10th December 1952]
VWL3656 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 1960---- [ca 1960]
VWL3655 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310618 18 June 1931.
VWL3654 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19361207 7.12.36.
VWL3653 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310602 26 June 1931.
VWL3652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1940---- [ca 1940]
VWL3651 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310720 20 July 1931.
VWL3650 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194008-- [ca August 1940]
VWL3649 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19350409 April 9 [ca 1935]
VWL3648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19291006 Oct 6th [1929]
VWL3647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19401226 Dec 26 [ca 1940]
VWL3646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 194405-- [?May 1944]
VWL3645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Max Hinrichsen 19550421 April 21 [1955]
VWL3644 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19460828 Aug 28 [1946]
VWL3643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 195----- [1950s?]
VWL3642 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19490128 28th Jan. 1949
VWL3641 Letter from Edmund Rubbra to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470808 [8 August 1947]
VWL3640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 1946---- [1946]
VWL3639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19471008 8th October, 1947
VWL3638 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 193906-- Tuesday [?June 1939 ]
VWL3637 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194---- [late 1940s?]
VWL3636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194-11-- [1940s?]
VWL3635 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194-0907 Sept 7 [1940s?]
VWL3634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Hurd 19521015 Oct 15th [1952]
VWL3633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19400312 March 12 [early 1940s]

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