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
VWL1004 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320627 Monday [27th June 1932]
VWL997 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320309 Wednesday [9th March 1932]
VWL917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310614 [14 June 1931]
VWL4768 Letter from Adeline Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310419 Sunday [19 April, 1931]
VWL860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300708 [8th July 1930]
VWL859 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300702 July 2 [1930]
VWL3899 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19300606 6 Jun 30
VWL4918 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 193----- [1930s?]
VWL3979 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19291221 21 Dec 1929
VWL4079 Letter from Lionel Tertis to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19291024 Oct-24-29
VWL3978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19290905 5 September 1929
VWL657 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19290127 27th January 1929
VWL629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19280208 [8th February 1928]
VWL627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19280130 [30 January 1928]
VWL616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19270502 [2nd May 1927]
VWL614 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19270324 [24th March 1927]
VWL3857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19270218 Feb 18 [1927]
VWL2577 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19260906 6 Sep 1926
VWL585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19250522 [22nd May 1925]
VWL587 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19250519 Tuesday [19th May 1925]
VWL572 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19241026 [26 October 1924]
VWL541 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19240203 3 Feb 1924
VWL519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19230830 [30th August 1923]
VWL505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19230102 [2nd January 1923]
VWL500 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19220701 [1st July 1922]
VWL489 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19220129 [29th January 1922]
VWL476 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19211015 [15th October 1921]
VWL470 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Scholes 19210205 5 Feb 1921
VWL4090 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19201106 [6 November, 1920]
VWL4088 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19200408 [8 April, 1920]

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