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
VWL1914 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Ireland 19440510 10th May [1944]
VWL1912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Churchwarden, Dorking Parish Church 19440504 May 4th 1944
VWL1911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Norman Peterkin 19440430 [30th April 1944]
VWL1903 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19440319 [19 March 1944]
VWL1904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19440303 March 3 [1944]
VWL1758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19430416 April 16 [1943]
VWL1838 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 194303-- Wednesday [March 1943]
VWL1676 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19420715 July 15 [1942]
VWL1673 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eveline Reed 19420705 July 5 [1942]
VWL1640 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Amy Spurgeon 19420330 [30 March 1942]
VWL1538 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Drew 19410605 June 5 [1941]
VWL1533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19410504 Sunday [4th May 1941]
VWL4670 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19400327 Wednesday [March 27 1940]
VWL1397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Gayford 19400222 Feb 22nd [1940]
VWL1395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denis Dowling 19400215 Feb 15 [1940]
VWL4387 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evangeline Farrer 19400209 Feb 9 [1940]
VWL4388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evangeline Farrer 19400208 Feb 8 [1940]
VWL1384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Janet Fraser 19400205 Feb 5 [1940]
VWL1383 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denis Dowling 19400205 Feb 5th [1940]
VWL1382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19400202 Feb 2 [1940]
VWL4647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 194002-- [Feb 1940]
VWL5092 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 194-0404 April 4 [1940s?]
VWL1608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL1571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19390625 June 25 [1939]
VWL677 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Drew 193906-- [June 1939]
VWL1560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19390415 [Mid April 1939]
VWL1559 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19390414 Friday [14th April 1939]
VWL1756 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19390407 April 7th [1939]
VWL1555 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19390319 Sunday [19th March 1939]
VWL4978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19380703 July 3rd. [1938]

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