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
VWL1372 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19380915 [about 15th September 1938]
VWL1116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361231 Dec 31 [1936]
VWL1114 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361226 December 26 [1936?]
VWL1113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361226 [26th December 1936]
VWL1107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361118 [18th November 1936]
VWL983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360927 [27th September 1936]
VWL978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360825 Aug 25 [1936]
VWL959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360727 [27 July 1936]
VWL955 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360715 [15th July 1936]
VWL946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360519 [19th May 1936]
VWL773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19350908 [8th September 1935]
VWL762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19350804 Sunday [4th August 1935]
VWL700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19350415 April 15 [1935]
VWL4772 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193412-- [December, 1934]
VWL1315 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340930 [30th September 1934]
VWL1314 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340929 Sep 29 [1934]
VWL1310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340923 [23rd September 1934]
VWL1290 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340829 Wed [29th August 1934]
VWL1079 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340828 Tuesday [28th August 1934]
VWL1272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340805 Sunday [?5th August 1934]
VWL1265 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340730 Monday [30th July 1934]
VWL1269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340725 [About 25th July 1934]
VWL1267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340722 [22nd July 1934]
VWL1264 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340705 [5th July 1934]
VWL1241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340513 [13th May 1934]
VWL1195 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340425 [25th April 1934]
VWL4771 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340317 March 17 [1934]
VWL1198 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340317 [17th March 1934]
VWL1185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340217 Sat 17th [February 1934]
VWL1180 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340104 Jan 4 [1934]

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