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
VWL2727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530930 September 30th 1953.
VWL4990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19411014 Oct 14 1941
VWL1486 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 194004-- [April 1940]
VWL3637 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kathleen Merritt 194---- [late 1940s?]
VWL1339 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foster Clark (BBC) 19341127 Nov 27 [1934]
VWL1184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19340128 Sunday [28th January 1934]
VWL1182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage at the BBC 19340118 Jan 18 [1934]
VWL1181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage at the BBC 19340113 Jan 13 1934
VWL1027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321229 [29th December 1932]
VWL3873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19321228 December 1932
VWL4602 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19321226 Monday [26 December 1932]
VWL745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1929---- [?1929]
VWL461 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19200311 11/3/20
VWL462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19200311 11/3/20
VWL444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19180608 8/6/18
VWL439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19180220 Feb 20th [1918]
VWL4314 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19140817 Monday [17 August, 1914]
VWL407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 19140710 July 10th [1914]

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