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
VWL5228 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Saturday [1903]
VWL5226 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Monday [1903]
VWL180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19021002 2nd October 1902
VWL179 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19020724 [24 July 1902]
VWL129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19020714 [14 July 1902]
VWL106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190204-- [April 1902?]
VWL133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190204-- [?Early 1902]
VWL107 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19011227 December 27th [1901]
VWL175 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19011028 October 28th [1901]
VWL130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190105-- [?May 1901]
VWL178 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19010325 March 25th [1901]
VWL127 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19010108 Jan 8th. [1901]
VWL109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Moore 1901---- [1901?]
VWL105 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 1901---- [1901?]
VWL111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1901---- [1901?]
VWL108 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Moore 1901---- [1901?]
VWL113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1901---- [1901?]
VWL300 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19001214 December 14th [1900?]
VWL132 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19001201 December 1st [1900]
VWL126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 190012-- [Dec 1900?]
VWL128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190012-- [?About December 1900]
VWL4457 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19001013 October 13 [1900?]
VWL131 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19001004 Thursday [October 4 1900]
VWL4460 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19001004 [4 October 1900]
VWL301 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Francis Jenkinson 19000502 [May 2 1900]
VWL137 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19000424 April 24th [1900]
VWL4455 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19000409 April 9th, [1900]
VWL278 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19000207 Feb 7th [1900]
VWL277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19000207 [ca 7 February, 1900]
VWL4459 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19000101 Sunday night [1 January 1900]

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