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
VWL3629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310614 June 14, [1931]
VWL917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310614 [14 June 1931]
VWL3612 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310607 June 7, [ca 1931]
VWL5119 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge 19310605 June 5 [1931]
VWL3653 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310602 26 June 1931.
VWL1157 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193106-- [?June 1931]
VWL915 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19310521 Thursday May 21 [1931]
VWL914 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19310518 Monday [18th May 1931]
VWL913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310517 [17 May 1931]
VWL912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker, Nora Day and Helen Bidder 19310517 May 17th 31
VWL1178 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 193105-- Monday [early May 1931]
VWL911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310426 [26th April 1931]
VWL3919 Letter from Gustav Holst to Adeline Vaughan Williams 19310419 Tuesday [19 April, 1931]
VWL4768 Letter from Adeline Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310419 Sunday [19 April, 1931]
VWL910 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19310409 April 9 [1931]
VWL909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310405 April 5 [1931]
VWL1156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193104-- [April 1931]
VWL1155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193104-- [April 1931]
VWL908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310329 [29 March 1931]
VWL907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19310322 [22 March 1931]
VWL906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19310322 [22 March 1931]
VWL4601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19310319 [19 March 1931]
VWL905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19310307 March 7 [1931]
VWL904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310306 [6th March 1931]
VWL1153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193103-- [?summer 1931]
VWL1154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193103-- [Late March 1931]
VWL903 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310131 [31st January 1931]
VWL902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Tillett 19310126 [26 January 1931]
VWL901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310125 [25 January 1931]
VWL900 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Tillett 19310120 January 20 [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