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
VWL1208 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370906 Monday eve [6th September 1937]
VWL1206 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370905 Sunday aft [5th September 1937]
VWL1205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19370816 August 16 1937
VWL1170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL4326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL3810 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370728 July 28 [1937]
VWL3811 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19370722 July 22 [1937]
VWL3016 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370722 22 July [1937]
VWL1169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370711 July 11 1937
VWL1188 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370708 July 8 [1937?]
VWL643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hermann Fiedler 193707-- [July 1937]
VWL3023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370601 June 1 [1937]
VWL5155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 193706-- Sunday [summer 1937]
VWL1168 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370514 Friday [14th May 1937]
VWL1175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370427 April 27 [1937]
VWL3997 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louise Dyer 19370419 April 19 [1937]
VWL1173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL1167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL1166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL1171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL3963 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Thistleton 19370405 April 5 [1937]
VWL1162 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370401 April 1 [1937]
VWL3015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370321 March 21 [1937]
VWL1160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370314 Sunday [14th March 1937]
VWL1159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19370307 March 7 [1937]
VWL1158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370301 Monday [1st March 1937?]
VWL1144 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370225 February 25 [1937]
VWL1143 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370225 Feb 25 [1937]
VWL1142 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370221 Sunday [21st February 1937]
VWL4609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Western 19370221 February 21 [1937]

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