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
VWL414 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19141101 Nov 1st [1914]
VWL416 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19350413 13 April l935
VWL417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Stanley Smith 19350414 [14th April 1935]
VWL418 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Vaughan Williams 19350414 April 14th [1935]
VWL419 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19350414 Sunday [14th April 1935]
VWL420 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Special Constabulary Chelsea Company 19141124 Nov 24th [1914]
VWL421 Letter from Charles Hubert Parry to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19150119 Jany 19. 1915
VWL422 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19150424 [24 May 1915]
VWL423 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Constance Machray 19160405 April 5th [1916]
VWL424 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye-Butterworth 19160816 Aug 16th [1916]
VWL425 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye-Butterworth 19160904 Monday [4th?] Sept [1916]
VWL426 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19161021 Saturday Oct 21st [1916]
VWL428 Letter from Charles Hubert Parry to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19170226 Febry 26. 1917
VWL429 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19170409 April 9th [1917]
VWL430 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19170522 May 22 [1917]
VWL431 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19170720 July 20 [1917]
VWL432 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19170804 Aug 4 [1917]
VWL433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19170923 Sept 23rd [1917]
VWL434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19171001 Oct 1st [1917]
VWL435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye-Butterworth 19171202 Dec 2nd 1917
VWL436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 19171228 Dec 28th [1917]
VWL437 Letter from Arthur Boosey to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19180109 Jan 9th 1918
VWL438 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Dorothea Butterworth 19180216 Saturday [?16th February 1918]
VWL439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19180220 Feb 20th [1918]
VWL440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19180224 Sunday [24 February 1918]
VWL441 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19180226 Feb 26th [1918]
VWL442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19180503 May 3rd [1918]
VWL443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Turner 19180511 May 11th [1918]
VWL444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19180608 8/6/18
VWL445 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19181116 Nov. 16th [1918?]

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