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
VWL4692 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480321 Sunday [21 March 1948]
VWL3145 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19490927 27th September, 1949.
VWL2771 Letter from from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480621 21st June, 1948
VWL2736 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19531019 19th October 1953
VWL2618 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530122 Thurs 22/1/53
VWL2608 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530109 9th January 1953
VWL2592 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480416 16th April, 1948
VWL2569 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530108 8th January 1953
VWL2546 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480210 10th February, 1948
VWL2544 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480122 22nd January, 1948.
VWL2542 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480120 [20th January 1948]
VWL2532 Letter from from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480109 9th January, 1948.
VWL2497 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471216 16th December, 1947.
VWL2482 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521010 [Just before 10th October, 1952]
VWL2472 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520922 22nd September 1952
VWL2460 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520819 Aug 19th [1952]
VWL2423 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520530 May 30th., 1952.
VWL2402 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471119 19th November, 1947.
VWL2382 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520317 March 17th., 1952
VWL2379 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520314 March 14th., 1952
VWL2378 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520313 March 13th., 1952
VWL2375 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520307 7th March, 1952
VWL2306 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19470709 9th July, 1947.
VWL2142 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19461209 9th December 1946
VWL1977 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19500202 2nd February, 1950.

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