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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310517 [17 May 1931]
VWL3919 Letter from Gustav Holst to Adeline Vaughan Williams 19310419 Tuesday [19 April, 1931]
VWL910 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19310409 April 9 [1931]
VWL1156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193104-- [April 1931]
VWL907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19310322 [22 March 1931]
VWL1154 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193103-- [Late March 1931]
VWL902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Tillett 19310126 [26 January 1931]
VWL900 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Tillett 19310120 January 20 [1931]
VWL884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19301220 [about 20th December 1930]
VWL883 Letter from Geoffrey Keynes to Edwin Evans 19301216 16.xii.30.
VWL882 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19301214 Sunday [14 December 1930]
VWL880 Letter from Gustav Holst to Edwin Evans 19301203 Dec. 3rd, 1930.
VWL894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 193012-- [December 1930]
VWL874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19301031 [About 31 October 1930]
VWL871 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ethel Colman 19301025 Oct: 25: l930
VWL870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19301013 [13th October 1930]
VWL4816 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193010-- [October 1930]
VWL4815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193008-- [August 1930]
VWL862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19300731 July 31st. 30
VWL631 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Keynes 19280612 June 12 [1928?]
VWL814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19271001 [October 1927]
VWL620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19270923 Sep 23 [1927]
VWL796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19270701 [July 1927]

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