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
VWL611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Fly 192611-- [November 1926]
VWL610 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19261013 Oct. 13th 26
VWL608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Bach Choir 19260612 [About 12th June 1926]
VWL605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Lock Burnaby 19260527 May 27 [1926]
VWL604 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19260503 May 3 [1926]
VWL603 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Fly 19260328 March 28 [1926]
VWL602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hugh Allen 19270303 March 3 [1926]
VWL600 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louise Alvar 19260219 Feb 19 [1926]
VWL599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Burnaby 19260214 Feb 14th [1926]
VWL597 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19260108 [8th January 1926]
VWL596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to J.F.R. Stainer 19251203 [3 December, 1925]
VWL595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Boosey 19251116 Nov 16 [1925?]
VWL593 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19251107 [7th November 1925]
VWL592 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christian Darnton 193705-- [May 1937?]
VWL591 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 193704-- [late April 1937]
VWL590 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 193704-- [April 1937]
VWL589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19251101 [About 1 November 1925]
VWL586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192501-- [January 1925]
VWL585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19250522 [22nd May 1925]
VWL584 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19250508 [On or about 8 May 1925]
VWL583 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19250501 [About 1 May 1925]
VWL582 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lancelot Bark 19250430 April 30 [1925]
VWL581 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert F. McEwen 1924---- [? 1924]
VWL580 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Blackwood McEwen 19260729 [29th July l926]
VWL579 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert F. McEwen 19250510 [10 May 1925]
VWL578 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert F. McEwen 19250329 [29 March 1925]
VWL577 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250215 Feb 15th [c 1925]
VWL576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250205 [5th February 1925]
VWL575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250113 Jan 13 [1925]
VWL574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19250106 Jan. 6th 25.

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