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
VWL4491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 194-1006 Oct 6 [1940s?]
VWL1639 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19391126 Nov 26 [probably 1939]
VWL1622 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19391106 [Early November 1939]
VWL685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193910-- [Autumn 1939]
VWL1555 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19390319 Sunday [19th March 1939]
VWL528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 1939---- Sunday [?1939]
VWL651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193809-- [September 1938]
VWL1092 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19361015 Thursday [15th October 1936]
VWL947 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19360519 [19th May 1936]
VWL735 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350614 June 14 [1935]
VWL727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350607 [7th June 1935]
VWL271 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350316 March 16 [1935]
VWL4483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19340928 Sep 28 [1934]
VWL1242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen and Isobel Holst 19340525 [25 May l934]
VWL1040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 19330119 Jan 19 1933
VWL3785 Letter from Dorothy Davison and Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19321201 1 Dec [1932]
VWL1033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 193212-- [December 1932]
VWL1150 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 193209-- [September 1932?]
VWL1149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 1932---- [1932?]
VWL885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19301221 [21st December 1930]
VWL817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 192910-- [Autumn 1929]
VWL585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19250522 [22nd May 1925]
VWL4494 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19120603 [Jun 3 1912]
VWL4492 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 19090115 [15 January 1909]
VWL4493 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maja Kjöhler 1909---- [1909?]

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