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
VWL1463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19401026 Oct 26 [1940]
VWL4491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 194-1006 Oct 6 [1940s?]
VWL528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 1939---- Sunday [?1939]
VWL1381 Letter from Sir Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19381007 October 7th 1938
VWL651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193809-- [September 1938]
VWL1214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19370919 [19 September 1937]
VWL4632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 19361217 December 17 [1936]
VWL4904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19361215 Dec 15 [1936]
VWL550 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19360710 [?10, July 1936]
VWL937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19360315 March 15 [1936]
VWL936 Letter from Sir William Rothenstein to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19360314 [on or before 14th March 1936]
VWL5244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19360215 February 16 1936
VWL863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19360109 Jan 9 [1936]
VWL832 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19351225 Xmas day [25th December 1935]
VWL818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Wimborne 19351201 About 1st December 1935
VWL4627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 193511-- [November 1935]
VWL805 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19351018 Oct 18 [1935]
VWL802 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19351006 October 6 [1935]
VWL800 Letter from Laurence Irving to Joan Western 19350928 28.9.35
VWL799 Letter from Archibald Davison to Joan Western 19350926 26.9.35
VWL785 Letter from Walter Damrosch to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350919 September 19, 1935.
VWL781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350916 September 16 [1935]
VWL756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19350710 July 10 [1935]
VWL744 Letter from Frederick Stock to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350625 25 June 1935
VWL727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350607 [7th June 1935]
VWL4665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350504 May 4 [1935]
VWL447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350414 April 14 [1935]
VWL417 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Stanley Smith 19350414 [14th April 1935]
VWL316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19350409 April 9th [1935]
VWL533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 193504-- [Earlier part of] 1935

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