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
VWL1058 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330701 [1 July 1933]
VWL1062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193307-- [About July 1933]
VWL1061 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Myers 193307-- [July 1933]
VWL3989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19330624 [24 June 1933]
VWL1081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330623 23 June 1933
VWL1057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330605 June 5 [1933]
VWL1056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Elgar 19330604 [About 4th June 1933]
VWL4825 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193306-- [June 1933]
VWL1133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193305-- [?May 1933]
VWL4139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19330430 April 30 [1933]
VWL1055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19330415 [About 15th April 1933]
VWL1054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19330414 [April 14th 1933]
VWL1234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330408 April 8 [1933 or earlier]
VWL1053 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19330401 [About 1st April 1933]
VWL1050 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19330318 March 18 [1933]
VWL1049 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19330313 [about 13 March 1933]
VWL4577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Edwards Park 19330311 March 11th 1935
VWL1048 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330311 [11 March 1933]
VWL1084 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193303-- [Early March 1933]
VWL1083 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Falkner 193303-- [About March 1933]
VWL1037 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 193303-- [March 1933]
VWL1082 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 193303-- [March ?1933]
VWL1047 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19330223 Feb 23 [1933]
VWL4824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19330220 Feb 20 [1933]
VWL1046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.H. Fox-Strangways 19330220 Feb. 20 [?1933]
VWL4848 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19330220 [late February 1933]
VWL1045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330210 [10th February 1933]
VWL1044 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330207 February 7 1933
VWL1035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193302-- [early February 1933]
VWL4858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193302-- [February 1933]

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