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
VWL3576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19571013 Oct 13 [1957]
VWL3490 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19570509 May 9th 1957.
VWL3348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560701 July 1st 1956.
VWL2273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19510919 19th Septr., 1951.
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL2187 Letter from A.L.P. Norrington to Norman Peterkin (OUP) 19470612 12th June, 1947.
VWL1439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Reginald Thatcher (BBC) 19400924 Sept 24 [1940]
VWL1434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19400902 [About 2nd September 1940]
VWL5138 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Rogers 1940---- [ca 1940]
VWL418 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Vaughan Williams 19350414 April 14th [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]
VWL636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19281014 Oct 14 [1928]
VWL5150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19280422 [22 April 1928]
VWL627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19280130 [30 January 1928]
VWL624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19271118 Nov 18 [1927]
VWL4796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1927---- [1927?]
VWL608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Bach Choir 19260612 [About 12th June 1926]
VWL605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorothy Lock Burnaby 19260527 May 27 [1926]
VWL793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 192602-- [February 1926]
VWL589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19251101 [About 1 November 1925]
VWL786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 192404-- [April 1924]
VWL543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240322 22/3/24
VWL3930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Heseltine 1924---- [1924?]
VWL539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19231231 Dec 31.[1923]
VWL5213 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to André Mangeot 19231210 Monday [10 December 1923]
VWL3158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19230418 18 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

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