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
VWL1318 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19341015 Oct 15 [1934-1952]
VWL1319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19341016 [About 16th October 1934]
VWL1320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Owen Mase (BBC) 19341018 Oct 18 [1934]
VWL1321 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Bernard van Dieren 19341020 October 20 [?1934]
VWL1323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19341028 Oct 28 [1934]
VWL1324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19341104 Nov 4th [1934]
VWL1325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19341106 Nov 6 [1934]
VWL1326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19341107 [About 7th Nov 1934]
VWL1327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Aylmer Buesst (BBC) 19341114 Nov 14 [1934]
VWL1328 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19380623 June 23 [?1938]
VWL1329 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380626 [26 June 1938]
VWL1330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19380626 June 26 [1938]
VWL1331 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19380626 Sunday [26 June l938]
VWL1332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380703 July 3 (1938)
VWL1333 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380704 [4th July 1938]
VWL1334 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Fletcher 19380710 July 10, 1938
VWL1337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19341118 November 18 [1934]
VWL1338 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19341123 Nov 23 [1934]
VWL1339 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foster Clark (BBC) 19341127 Nov 27 [1934]
VWL1340 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19341129 Nov 29 [?1934]
VWL1341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19341202 Dec 2 [1934]
VWL1342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19341202 Sunday [2 December 1934]
VWL1343 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19341204 Dec 4. 34
VWL1344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19341204 Dec 4 [1934]
VWL1345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19341212 [12 December 1934]
VWL1346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19341225 Xmas Day
VWL1347 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 1935---- Sunday [1935]
VWL1348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 1934---- [Sometime 1930-1934]
VWL1349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1934---- [?1934]
VWL1350 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 1934---- [Early 1930s]

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