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
VWL1618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19391024 Oct 24 [1939]
VWL1617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell (BBC) 19391019 Oct 19 [1939]
VWL1609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director-General (BBC) 19391018 Oct. 18 [1939]
VWL5000 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19391015 Oct 15 [1939]
VWL1602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19391010 [10 October 1939]
VWL1600 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391009 [9 October 1939]
VWL1598 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391007 [7th October 1939]
VWL1595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391003 October 3 [1939]
VWL1444 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19381120 Nov 20th [1938]
VWL1407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19381113 Nov 13 [1938]
VWL1300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19380506 [6 May 1938]
VWL1286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the BBC 19380410 Sunday [10 April 1938]
VWL1284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380325 March 25 [1938]
VWL1106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr. Bridgewater (BBC) 19361025 Sunday [25 October 1936]
VWL1089 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr. Bridgewater (BBC) 19361009 Oct 9th [1936]
VWL879 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19360208 8 Feb 1936
VWL4995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19360208 Feb 8 [1936]
VWL813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19351128 28 November 1935
VWL812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19351124 [24] Nov. 1935
VWL802 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19351006 October 6 [1935]
VWL4325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Dwelly 193503-- [c. March 1935]
VWL1344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19341204 Dec 4 [1934]
VWL1341 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19341202 Dec 2 [1934]
VWL1339 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foster Clark (BBC) 19341127 Nov 27 [1934]
VWL1337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19341118 November 18 [1934]
VWL1327 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Aylmer Buesst (BBC) 19341114 Nov 14 [1934]
VWL1320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Owen Mase (BBC) 19341018 Oct 18 [1934]
VWL1134 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Clark 19341011 Oct 11 [?1934]
VWL1312 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson at the BBC 19340923 Sept 23 [1934]
VWL1271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19340730 [30 Jul 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