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
VWL1166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL3015 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Everett Helm 19370321 March 21 [1937]
VWL4256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19370119 Jan 19th [1937?]
VWL4263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19370111 January 11 [1937?]
VWL1111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19361214 14 Dec 1936
VWL4262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19361026 October 26 [1936]
VWL5036 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19360809 [9 Aug 1936]
VWL4258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19360802 August 2 [1936]
VWL4257 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nadia Boulanger 19360619 June 19 [1936]
VWL952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19360614 June 14 [1936]
VWL944 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19360512 Friday [12th May 1936]
VWL942 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19360506 Wednesday [6th May 1936]
VWL751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ethel Strudwick 19350706 July 6 [1935]
VWL1324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19341104 Nov 4th [1934]
VWL5147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19341014 Oct 14th [1934]
VWL1268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19340722 July 22 [1934]
VWL1197 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19340311 March 11 [1934]
VWL1123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19331113 [13 November 1933]
VWL1059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330705 July 5 [1933]
VWL3989 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19330624 [24 June 1933]
VWL1081 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330623 23 June 1933
VWL1057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330605 June 5 [1933]
VWL3988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19330102 Jan 2d 1933
VWL1019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19321101 [About 1st November 1932]
VWL1165 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 193111-- [Mid October 1931]
VWL905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19310307 March 7 [1931]
VWL885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19301221 [21st December 1930]
VWL855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19300412 [12th April 1930]
VWL854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19300409 [9th April 1930]
VWL844 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19300303 March 3 [1930]

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