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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL5259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the editor of the Sunday Referee newspaper 19341002 [2 Oct 1934]
VWL5215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Sidgwick 1908---- [probably 1908 or later]
VWL5214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Welsh Folk Song Society 1958---- 1958
VWL5109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Morning Post 19031201 [1 December, 1903]
VWL5108 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Morning Post 19060828 August 28, 1906
VWL5107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Morning Post 19041008 Sunday 8 October, 1904
VWL5106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Morning Post 19031215 156 Dec. 1903
VWL5105 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Morning Post 19040924 Sep 24 1904
VWL5101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19580612 12 June, 1958
VWL4917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 194-1225 Xmas Day [late 1940s?]
VWL4914 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19390525 [mid May 1939]
VWL4905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1937---- [late 1930s?]
VWL4898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1935---- [mid 1930s]
VWL4866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193508-- [August 1935]
VWL4865 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1936---- [1936]
VWL4735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 19550528 May 28th 1955.
VWL4733 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Chambers 19500915 Sept 15 [early 1950s]
VWL4664 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Plomer 19410622 June 22 1941
VWL4470 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19350718 July 18 [late 1930s]
VWL4397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frances Farrer, Secretary of the Leith Hill Musical Competitions 192910-- [October 1929]
VWL4321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1905---- [between 1905-November, 1907]
VWL4208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL4136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 1943---- [?1943]
VWL4133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19270113 Jan 13 [?1927]
VWL4132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192701-- Sunday, [January, ?1927]
VWL3714 Letter from Margot Fonteyn to Vaughan Williams Memorial subscribers 195903-- March, 1959
VWL3654 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19361207 7.12.36.
VWL3630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to ? Cecil Sharp 19061127 27 Nov 1906
VWL3622 Memo from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the EFDS Committee 193603-- March, 1936

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