RVW’s Letters

ABOUT THE LETTERS

Ralph Vaughan Williams’s correspondence - with his friends, family, pupils and fellow musicians - paints an intriguing portrait of the man, as well as providing fascinating insights into his major preoccupations: musical, personal and political.

The VWF database includes transcripts of over 5,000 items of annotated correspondence, fully indexed and searchable, which can all be read online. It includes all the letters of Ralph Vaughan Williams known to the editors and is an ongoing project. Find out more about the database.

The text of letters written by Ralph Vaughan Williams remains in the copyright of the Vaughan Williams Foundation and may not be further reproduced without the prior written consent of the Foundation.

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Featured Letter

from Vaughan Williams, Ralph, 1872-1958 to Lemare, Iris Margaret Elsie, 1902-1997

Letter No. VWL1557

Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare

Letter No.: VWL1557

From R. Vaughan Williams,
The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.

March 25 [1939]

Dear Iris

‘Windsor Forest’ takes about 25 minutes so I think we ought to allow 50 for rehearsal – but I will no be longer than I can help.1
The orchestra was 1st rate on Thursday.2
Yrs

Uncle Ralph

1. In the hand of AVW to this point, then in the hand of VW. The concert was in Lewes Town Hall on 22 April. RVW was introduced by John Christie (of Glyndebourne) and presented the awards at the end of the Lewes competitive festival. Lemare’s note: “This was a very special concert in my life. It would have made a great difference to me  – had the war not happened 6 months later. It is also precious as it was a “shared” concert with Ralph. I had done all the “donkey work” at the Lewes Festival, preparing the orchestra there for years. This concert the cttee decided to forego a soloist and instead get a first class professional orchestra and give me the chance to conduct it.”  “It was more or less the “London Phil” … Ralph conducted “Windsor Forest” and I did the rest [Overture – concerto – de Falla “El Amor Brujo”]. In the train going back on my own the leader – David Macallum – found me – and gave me a terrific boost and said he would see the manager about a concert with them. Of course it never happened! – but this was 1939 and could have boosted woman conductors”.
2. “The orchestra was 1st rate on Thursday” relates to RVW conducting in Kensington Town Hall for the Kensington Festival on Thursday 23 March.  Iris probably also fixed the orchestra for that event.

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A teacher's advice is not meant to be taken like a Pill but thought about & then: 1) adopted, or (2) rejected, or (perhaps best of all) (3) a 3rd course suggests itself from thinking the matter over.

RVW letter to GRACE WILLIAMS 1920

New York on the 26th, lecture at Yale on the 1st. Sail on the 4th. Ralph is terrifically well and bouncy and THRIVES on milkshakes and butterscotch sundaes.

UVW letter from New York to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 1954

Most of Stravinsky bores me. I wish he even shocked me: especially the Rite of Spring...but I do like Symphony of Psalms, Les Noces, and the Suite for Violin and Pianoforte, of which I once heard a record under very peculiar circumstances, of which I will tell you one day.

RVW letter to MICHAEL KENNEDY 1957

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