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
VWL5273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William James Shergold 19391109 Nov 9th [1939]
VWL5271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vinicio Barocas 19440103 Jan 3/44
VWL5234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Hawkes 19320213 Feb 13 [1932?]
VWL5203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Griffiths 19420214 Feb 14 [1942]
VWL4775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 194910-- Sunday [October 1949]
VWL4656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19460526 [26 May 1946]
VWL4651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19501206 6th December, 1950.
VWL4648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19530320 March 20 [1953]
VWL4487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19551003 October 3rd 1955.
VWL4216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19450504 May 4 [1945]
VWL4031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams seeking funds for Dorking and Leith Hill Preservation Society 19420305 March 3rd [1942]
VWL3751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19491102 2nd. November, 1949.
VWL3695 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Riddick 19570122 January 22nd 1957.
VWL3385 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19580205 February 5th 1958
VWL2996 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550210 February 10th [1955]
VWL2675 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530401 1st. April, 1953.
VWL2583 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19490325 March 25 [1949]
VWL2138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19461109 Nov 9th 1946
VWL2088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19501003 Oct 3rd [1950]
VWL1880 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Rev. Leonard Starey 19450315 [c.15th March 1945]
VWL1856 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460502 Thursday [2 May 1946]
VWL1777 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 194701-- [January 1947]
VWL1758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19430416 April 16 [1943]
VWL1627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19420111 Jan 11 1942
VWL1615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19411228 Dec 28 1941
VWL1561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390416 [16th April, 1939]
VWL1397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Gayford 19400222 Feb 22nd [1940]
VWL1396 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Trevelyan 19480216 Feb 16 [1948?]
VWL1382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19400202 Feb 2 [1940]
VWL1356 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19400101 New Years Day [1940]

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