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
VWL1141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Fisher 19370202 Tuesday [2nd February 1937]
VWL1142 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370221 Sunday [21st February 1937]
VWL1143 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370225 Feb 25 [1937]
VWL1144 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370225 February 25 [1937]
VWL1145 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 1930---- [1930s?]
VWL1146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [about August 1931]
VWL1147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [?August 1931]
VWL1148 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 193111-- [After October 1931]
VWL1149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 1932---- [1932?]
VWL1150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 193209-- [September 1932?]
VWL1151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jessie Stewart 1932---- [c.1932]
VWL1152 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 1932---- [1932 or 1933]
VWL1153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193103-- [?summer 1931]
VWL1154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193103-- [Late March 1931]
VWL1155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193104-- [April 1931]
VWL1156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193104-- [April 1931]
VWL1157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193106-- [?June 1931]
VWL1158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370301 Monday [1st March 1937?]
VWL1159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19370307 March 7 [1937]
VWL1160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370314 Sunday [14th March 1937]
VWL1161 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Bush 19370317 March 17 [1937]
VWL1162 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370401 April 1 [1937]
VWL1163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 193108-- [About August 1931]
VWL1164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193109-- [September, 1931]
VWL1165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193111-- [Mid October 1931]
VWL1166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL1167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL1168 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370514 Friday [14th May 1937]
VWL1169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370711 July 11 1937
VWL1170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370803 August 3 [1937]

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