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
VWL5203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Griffiths 19420214 Feb 14 [1942]
VWL1630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19420126 Jan 26 [1942]
VWL1627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19420111 Jan 11 1942
VWL1634 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 194201-- [January 1942]
VWL1531 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410408 [8 April 1941]
VWL646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 193802-- Wed [?early 1938]
VWL693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 193802-- [After April 1935]
VWL4660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Coles 19371101 1st Nov [1937]
VWL4773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19351226 Dec 26 [1935?]
VWL4877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 1935---- [ca 1935]
VWL1354 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 193404-- [April 1934?]
VWL1234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330408 April 8 [1933 or earlier]
VWL5234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Hawkes 19320213 Feb 13 [1932?]
VWL4601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19310319 [19 March 1931]
VWL543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240322 22/3/24
VWL514 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lucy Broadwood 19230403 3rd April 1923
VWL509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230310 [10th March 1923]
VWL507 Letter from Vally Lasker to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19230308 March 8th 23
VWL508 Letter from Charles Villiers Stanford to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19230308 March 8. 23
VWL4460 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19001004 [4 October 1900]
VWL292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18980409 9th April 1898

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