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
VWL744 Letter from Frederick Stock to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350625 25 June 1935
VWL1315 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340930 [30th September 1934]
VWL1263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson 19340617 June 17th [1934]
VWL1260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19340606 [6th June 1934]
VWL3712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340205 Monday [February 5 1934]
VWL588 Letter from Carl Stoeckel to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19250616 June 16th, 1925.
VWL575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250113 Jan 13 [1925]
VWL574 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19250106 Jan. 6th 25.
VWL570 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Scholes 19240921 21/9/24
VWL569 Letter from Percy Scholes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240919 19.9.24
VWL568 Letter from Madelon Coates to Percy Scholes 19240828 Aug: 28th 1924
VWL4885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230915 [mid-September 1923]
VWL510 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ray Henderson 19230330 [30th March 1923]
VWL499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19220630 30/6/22
VWL493 Letter from Crompton Llewellyn Davies to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220227 27 Feb 1922
VWL491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19220202 2/2/22
VWL487 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19220118 18/1/22
VWL738 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 1922---- [1922?]
VWL4887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 1922---- Wednesday [1922?]
VWL482 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19211127 27/11/21
VWL481 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19211011 10/11/21
VWL480 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust 19211007 7/10/21
VWL471 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19210220 20/2/21
VWL469 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.H. Flagler 19210201 1/2/21
VWL465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19200319 19/3/20
VWL462 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19200311 11/3/20
VWL452 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19190811 11/8/19
VWL440 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19180224 Sunday [24 February 1918]
VWL439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19180220 Feb 20th [1918]
VWL435 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye-Butterworth 19171202 Dec 2nd 1917

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