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.

Searching:
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
VWL651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193809-- [September 1938]
VWL685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193910-- [Autumn 1939]
VWL2419 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19471125 Nov 25 [1947]
VWL1639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19391126 Nov 26 [probably 1939]
VWL2237 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19510517 [17th May 1951]
VWL2279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19511016 Oct 16 [1951]
VWL249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350303 [3 March 1935]
VWL271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350316 March 16 [1935]
VWL2022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19451206 Dec 6 [1945]
VWL1376 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19400125 Jan 25 [1940]
VWL547 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193510-- [October 1935]
VWL735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350614 June 14 [1935]
VWL1955 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19441227 27 Dec 1944
VWL4483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19340928 Sep 28 [1934]
VWL4490 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19400321 March 21 [1940s?]
VWL4491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 194-1006 Oct 6 [1940s?]
VWL1766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 1948---- [?1948]
VWL885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19301221 [21st December 1930]
VWL1019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19321101 [About 1st November 1932]
VWL1214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19370919 [19 September 1937]
VWL1464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19401031 [31 October 1940]
VWL947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19360519 [19th May 1936]
VWL817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 192910-- [Autumn 1929]
VWL1266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19340714 14 JUL 34
VWL1939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19441015 Oct 15 [1944]
VWL3576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19571013 Oct 13 [1957]
VWL1242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen and Isobel Holst 19340525 [25 May l934]
VWL4581 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ida Darwin 19200629 June 29 [about 1920?]
VWL1973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ibbs and Tillett 19500111 11 January, 1950
VWL3479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ian Parrott 19570411 April 11th 1957.

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