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
VWL3699 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Ralph Vaughan Williams 19590120 January 20th, 1959
VWL3698 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19590115 January 15th 1959
VWL2824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540601 June 1st 1954.
VWL2823 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19540531 May 31st 1954.
VWL2279 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19511016 Oct 16 [1951]
VWL1548 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 1941---- [War years - ?1941]
VWL683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193909-- Sept [1939]
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
VWL1277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Müller-Hartmann 19380127 January 27 [1938]
VWL4904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19361215 Dec 15 [1936]
VWL1092 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19361015 Thursday [15th October 1936]
VWL968 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19360807 [About 7th August 1936]
VWL933 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19360212 Feb 12 [1936]
VWL1261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19340606 [Early June 1934]
VWL1243 Letter from Isobel Holst to Ralph and Adeline Vaughan Williams 19340603 June 3. 1934
VWL3028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- Sunday [1934?]
VWL1132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193312-- [December 1933]
VWL1019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19321101 [About 1st November 1932]
VWL3897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL886 Letter from Gustav Holst to Edwin Evans 19301223 Dec 23 [1930]
VWL885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19301221 [21st December 1930]
VWL884 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19301220 [about 20th December 1930]
VWL874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19301031 [About 31 October 1930]
VWL817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 192910-- [Autumn 1929]
VWL539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19231231 Dec 31.[1923]
VWL770 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav, Isobel and Imogen Holst, Vally Lasker and Nora Day 192210-- [?October 1922]

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