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
VWL183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald Francis Tovey 19350103 Jan 3rd 1935
VWL1448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald Francis Tovey 19381210 Dec 10 [1938]
VWL468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald F. Tovey 19270303 March 3 [1927]
VWL3042 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Don Ray 19500901 1st September, 1950
VWL1609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director-General (BBC) 19391018 Oct. 18 [1939]
VWL185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director of ‘English Dance Players’ 19350114 January 14 [1935]
VWL664 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 192908-- [August 1929]
VWL1241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340513 [13th May 1934]
VWL1290 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340829 Wed [29th August 1934]
VWL773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19350908 [8th September 1935]
VWL869 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19300923 [23rd September 1930]
VWL875 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301101 [1 November 1930]
VWL898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310107 [7th January 1931]
VWL959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360727 [27 July 1936]
VWL983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360927 [27th September 1936]
VWL1018 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321024 24th October 1932
VWL1045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330210 [10th February 1933]
VWL1153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193103-- [?summer 1931]
VWL1315 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340930 [30th September 1934]
VWL843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19300211 [11th February 1930]
VWL878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301116 [16th November 1930]
VWL887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301228 [28th December 1930]
VWL893 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193011-- [November 1930]
VWL930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310802 [2nd August 1931]
VWL1035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193302-- [early February 1933]
VWL1039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330116 [16th January 1933]
VWL1080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193308xa [August 1933]
VWL1130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193309-- [late September 1933]
VWL659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19290210 [10 February 1929]
VWL4772 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193412-- [December, 1934]

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