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
VWL1080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193308xa [August 1933]
VWL1094 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330830 Wednesday [?30th August 1933]
VWL1088 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330827 Sunday [?27th August 1933]
VWL4094 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 193208?? [?August, 1932]
VWL1005 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19320710 [About 10th July 1932]
VWL999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19320320 March 20 [1932]
VWL954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310920 September 20 [1931]
VWL940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to Edward Elgar 19310909 [9th September 1931]
VWL939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310809 August 9 [1931]
VWL938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 19310802 August 2nd [1931]
VWL1146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [about August 1931]
VWL1147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [?August 1931]
VWL1153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193103-- [?summer 1931]
VWL690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19291016 [16th October 1929]
VWL4177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19290714 July 14 [1929]
VWL4176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19290310 March 10 [1929]
VWL3854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1929---- [1929?]
VWL4812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192809-- [September 1928]
VWL816 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 192809-- [September 1928]
VWL4809 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 192808-- [August 1928?]
VWL3617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert John Sumsion 192806-- [June 1928]
VWL4174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19260418 April 18 [1926]
VWL4175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 192604-- [April? 1926]
VWL407 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 19140710 July 10th [1914]
VWL371 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Thompson 19110608 June 8th [1911]

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