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 Holst, Gustav, 1874-1934

Letter No. VWL264

Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst

Letter No.: VWL264

Hawgoods Temperance Hotel
Bramber
Sussex

[Late July 1899]

Dear V.H.

This isn’t really a hotel but a refreshment room and tea gardens with apartments attached. We stay here any way till Friday and perhaps a week more. I think it is a good place for work. I have done 4 pages of full score today which is rather good for me.1
We have just come from a most magnificent evening walk – first a sunset seen from the downs – then blue twilight then stars and nearly losing our way and then home.
Do send me some more of your adorable programmes – I laughed out loud for a whole day over that one. I do hope your hand is really better – your looking glass style2 is magnificent.
I spent Sunday and Saturday evening with Howard Jones3 and we walked about and sat on gates till 12 p.m. and talked about music and organs and success and other incongruous subjects. He wants you to write to him but I explained that your hand was too bad. He is very much excited over playing to D’Albert.4
I will write to Gatty about Granville-Whitman (no I mean Walt-Bantock5)  – Gatty’s variations were badly played and splendidly reviewed.6
Yrs

R.V.W.

1. This was probably either for the Mass written for his Mus. Doc., Catalogue of Works 1899/F, or the Serenade for small orchestra in A minor, Catalogue of Works 1898/1.
2. i.e. of handwriting with the left hand. Holst had persistent neuritis in his right arm.
3. Evlyn Howard-Jones, one of VW and Holst’s circle at the Royal College of Music and later a successful pianist.
4. Howard-Jones went to study with d’Albert after finishing in the Royal College of Music.
5. It is not clear what the link between Walt Whitman and Granville Bantock was that gave rise to this joke.
6. Referring to a concert in which Gatty’s Variations on Old King Cole for orchestra were played; see The Musical Times, 1 August, 1899.

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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