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
VWL4929 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Kennedy 19380116 16th January 1938
VWL2180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Gray 19380103 Jan 3rd [1938]
VWL1273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19380103 Jan 3d [1938]
VWL3024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19380101 [1 Jan 1938]
VWL522 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 1938---- [1938?]
VWL523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1938---- [1938?]
VWL4101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1938---- [?1938]
VWL4462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1938---- Jan 3d [late 1930s]
VWL524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 1938---- [about 1938]
VWL521 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 1938---- [1938?]
VWL4212 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 1938---- [1938]
VWL3853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19371o-- [autumn 1937?]
VWL1257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19371231 Dec 31 [1937]
VWL4613 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19371230 [30 Dec 1937]
VWL1256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric and Margaret Thorpe Davie 19371229 [29th December 1937]
VWL989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19371228 Dec 28 [1937]
VWL3806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Quilter 19371219 Dec 19th [1937]
VWL4928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Kennedy 19371218 18 Dec 1937
VWL4463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19371206 Dec 6 [about 1937]
VWL1255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19371205 Dec 5 [1937]
VWL4844 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19371205 Dec 5 [1937]
VWL5004 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henri Temianka 19371203 Dec 3 [1937]
VWL645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 193712-- Monday [December 1937]
VWL1254 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19371127 Nov 27th [1937]
VWL3933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19371125 [late November 1937]
VWL1252 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 19371108 [8th November 1937]
VWL1253 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr ?Garstiers 19371108 Nov 8 [1937]
VWL1251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19371102 Tuesday [2 November 1937]
VWL4660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Coles 19371101 1st Nov [1937]
VWL4464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19371101 [Nov 1 1937]

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