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
VWL4491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 194-1006 Oct 6 [1940s?]
VWL1564 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390511 [11th May, 1939]
VWL1115 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ethel Colman 19361226 Dec 26: 1936
VWL977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foster Clark (BBC) 19360810 August 10 [1936]
VWL807 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19351019 19 Oct 1935
VWL803 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19351007 October 7 [1935]
VWL704 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350422 22/4/35.
VWL447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350414 April 14 [1935]
VWL184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19350106 [6 January 1935]
VWL1346 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19341225 Xmas Day
VWL1070 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19340723 July 23 [1934]
VWL1185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340217 Sat 17th [February 1934]
VWL3712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340205 Monday [February 5 1934]
VWL916 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320610 Friday [10th June 1932]
VWL960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19311101 Sunday [1st November 1931]
VWL964 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193111-- [After 2nd November 1931]
VWL954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310920 September 20 [1931]
VWL940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to Edward Elgar 19310909 [9th September 1931]
VWL939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310809 August 9 [1931]
VWL938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 19310802 August 2nd [1931]
VWL929 Letter from Gwen Raverat to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310802 August 2nd [1931]
VWL1146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [about August 1931]
VWL1163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 193108-- [About August 1931]
VWL1147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [?August 1931]
VWL927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310720 [c 20 July 1931]
VWL923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310712 July 12 [1931]
VWL4818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310701 [1 July 1931]
VWL4093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Martin Shaw 193107-- [after 5 July, 1931]
VWL921 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19310630 Tuesday [30th June 1931]
VWL919 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19310621 June 21 [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