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
VWL1219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390731 [31 July 1939]
VWL1220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19390813 Sunday [13th August 1939]
VWL1221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390823 Aug 23 [1939?]
VWL1222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390906 [6th September 1939]
VWL1223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390915 [15th September 1939]
VWL1224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390915 [15th September 1939]
VWL1225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390918 [18 September 1939]
VWL1226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19391231 Dec 31 [1939]
VWL1227 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19391231 Dec 31st [1939]
VWL1228 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391226 Dec 26 [1939]
VWL1229 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elisabeth Lutyens 19391213 [13 December 1939]
VWL1230 Telegram from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elisabeth Lutyens 19391213 13 Dec 39
VWL1231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19340326 March 26 [about 1934?]
VWL1234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330408 April 8 [1933 or earlier]
VWL1235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19340413 Friday [13 April 1934]
VWL1236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Clark 19340424 April 24th [1934]
VWL1238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Hutchinson 19491013 13th October, 1949.
VWL1239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19340506 May 6th [1934]
VWL1241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340513 [13th May 1934]
VWL1242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen and Isobel Holst 19340525 [25 May l934]
VWL1244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19371003 Sunday [3rd October 1937]
VWL1245 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19371003 Oct 3rd [1937]
VWL1246 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19371009 Oct 9th [1937]
VWL1247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19371016 Oct 16 [1937]
VWL1248 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19371025 [24 Oct 1937]
VWL1249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss at Oxford University Press 19371025 [25th October 1937]
VWL1250 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19371101 Nov 1st [1937]
VWL1251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19371102 Tuesday [2 November 1937]
VWL1252 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19371108 [8th November 1937]
VWL1253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr ?Garstiers 19371108 Nov 8 [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