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
VWL863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19360109 Jan 9 [1936]
VWL866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederic Wilkinson 19360208 Feb 8th [1936]
VWL867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Gregory Mason 19300819 August 19 [1930]
VWL868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19300829 [29th August 1930]
VWL869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19300923 [23rd September 1930]
VWL870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19301013 [13th October 1930]
VWL871 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ethel Colman 19301025 Oct: 25: l930
VWL872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19301026 Oct 26 [1930]
VWL873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301029 [29th October 1930]
VWL874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19301031 [About 31 October 1930]
VWL875 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301101 [1 November 1930]
VWL876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19301105 [5th November 1930]
VWL877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19301106 [6 November, 1930]
VWL878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301116 [16th November 1930]
VWL879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19360208 8 Feb 1936
VWL881 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Ellingford 19301209 December 9 [1930]
VWL882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19301214 Sunday [14 December 1930]
VWL884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19301220 [about 20th December 1930]
VWL885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19301221 [21st December 1930]
VWL887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301228 [28th December 1930]
VWL888 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19301228 [28th December 1930]
VWL889 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19301228 [28 December l930]
VWL890 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 193003-- [?March 1930]
VWL891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193006-- [About June 1930]
VWL892 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Ellingford 193010-- [?October 1930]
VWL893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193011-- [November 1930]
VWL894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 193012-- [December 1930]
VWL895 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 193012-- [About December 1930]
VWL896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310104 [4th January 1931]
VWL897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Owen Mase (BBC) 19310105 [5th January 1931]

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