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
VWL954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310920 September 20 [1931]
VWL949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310918 [18th September 1931]
VWL940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to Edward Elgar 19310909 [9th September 1931]
VWL1164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193109-- [September, 1931]
VWL939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310809 August 9 [1931]
VWL938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 19310802 August 2nd [1931]
VWL930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310802 [2nd August 1931]
VWL929 Letter from Gwen Raverat to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310802 August 2nd [1931]
VWL1146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [about August 1931]
VWL3883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193108-- [August 1931]
VWL1163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 193108-- [About August 1931]
VWL1147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [?August 1931]
VWL4443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19310728 July 28 [1931?]
VWL928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310724 [24 July 1931]
VWL3651 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310720 20 July 1931.
VWL927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310720 [c 20 July 1931]
VWL926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310719 [19th July 1931]
VWL4557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310715 [15 July 1931]
VWL924 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19310714 [14th July 1931]
VWL925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310714 [14 July 1931]
VWL923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310712 July 12 [1931]
VWL922 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310702 [2nd July 1931]
VWL4818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310701 [1 July 1931]
VWL4093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Martin Shaw 193107-- [after 5 July, 1931]
VWL921 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19310630 Tuesday [30th June 1931]
VWL920 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310623 [23rd? June 1931]
VWL3628 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310621 June 21, [1931]
VWL919 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19310621 June 21 [1931]
VWL918 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310620 [20th June 1931]
VWL3655 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310618 18 June 1931.

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