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
VWL563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 193505-- [May 1935]
VWL704 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350422 22/4/35.
VWL703 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19350418 April 18th 1935
VWL700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19350415 April 15 [1935]
VWL1241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340513 [13th May 1934]
VWL1122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19340103 [3 January 1934]
VWL1124 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19331207 Dec 7 [1933]
VWL3962 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19330901 Sep 1, [1933]
VWL1036 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193302-- [Late February 1933]
VWL4140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 1933---- [?1933]
VWL1085 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 1933---- [About 1933?]
VWL4094 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 193208-- [August, 1932]
VWL3902 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19320415 April 15 [1932]
VWL5234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Hawkes 19320213 Feb 13 [1932?]
VWL939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310809 August 9 [1931]
VWL4093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Martin Shaw 193107-- [after 5 July, 1931]
VWL3919 Letter from Gustav Holst to Adeline Vaughan Williams 19310419 Tuesday [19 April, 1931]
VWL4768 Letter from Adeline Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310419 Sunday [19 April, 1931]
VWL4773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19301226 Dec 26 [1930]
VWL4877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 193009-- [late 1930]
VWL3773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Stich[?] 1930---- Sept 21 [1930s?]
VWL5076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Times 19290721 July 21 [1929]
VWL611 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Fly 192611-- [November 1926]
VWL3903 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 192605-- Thursday [May or June 1926]
VWL4761 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 192604-- [April, 1926?]
VWL603 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Fly 19260328 March 28 [1926]
VWL599 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Burnaby 19260214 Feb 14th [1926]
VWL4380 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robin Milford 1925---- [ca 1925]
VWL566 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Humphrey Proctor-Gregg 192406-- [June 1924]
VWL543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240322 22/3/24

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