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
VWL446 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19181212 12.12.18
VWL447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350414 April 14 [1935]
VWL448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to L.J. Pollard 19190203 3/2/19
VWL449 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hugh Fraser Stewart 19190226 26/2/19
VWL450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Longman 19190606 6/6/19
VWL451 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Francis Jenkinson 19190626 26/6/19
VWL452 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19190811 11/8/19
VWL453 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray 19190822 22/8/19
VWL454 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Handel Society 19191107 7/11/19
VWL455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19191123 23/11/19
VWL457 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19191225 Dec 25 [1919]
VWL459 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19200308 [About 8th March 1920]
VWL460 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louis Fleury 19200310 10/3/20
VWL462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19200311 11/3/20
VWL463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Edward Sayle 19200314 14/3/20
VWL464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Edward Sayle 19200319 19/3/20
VWL466 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19201215 15 December 1920
VWL467 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19201221 21 December 1920
VWL468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald F. Tovey 19270303 March 3 [1927]
VWL469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.H. Flagler 19210201 1/2/21
VWL471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19210220 20/2/21
VWL472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19210401 1/4/21
VWL473 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19210407 [?early April 1921 ]
VWL474 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19210430 30/4/21
VWL475 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19201008 Friday [8 October 1920]
VWL477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr & Mrs Robert F. McEwen 19210722 [22nd July 1921]
VWL478 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19210814 14/8/21
VWL479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joanna Hadley 19210816 [About 16th August 1921]
VWL480 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19211007 7/10/21
VWL481 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19211011 10/11/21

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