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
VWL1350 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19340331 [late March 1934]
VWL1198 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340317 [17th March 1934]
VWL1191 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Elgar 19340219 Feb 19th [1934]
VWL1185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340217 Sat 17th [February 1934]
VWL1063 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330722 [22 July 1933]
VWL1045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330210 [10th February 1933]
VWL1027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321229 [29th December 1932]
VWL3873 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19321228 December 1932
VWL994 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321226 December 26 [1932]
VWL4602 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19321226 Monday [26 December 1932]
VWL3842 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1932---- Fri [1932?]
VWL4010 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19311126 November 26th, 1931.
VWL938 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 19310802 August 2nd [1931]
VWL900 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Tillett 19310120 January 20 [1931]
VWL3943 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs George McCleary 193----- [1930s?]
VWL4177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19290714 July 14 [1929]
VWL671 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson (BBC) 19290604 [4 June 1929]
VWL4176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19290310 March 10 [1929]
VWL636 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19281014 Oct 14 [1928]
VWL742 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 1927---- [Before 1928]
VWL4174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19260418 April 18 [1926]
VWL4175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 192604-- [April? 1926]
VWL3930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Heseltine 192312-- [December 1923]
VWL518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19230723 27/7/23
VWL3158 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ronald Cunliffe 19230418 18 April 1923
VWL507 Letter from Vally Lasker to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19230308 March 8th 23
VWL508 Letter from Charles Villiers Stanford to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19230308 March 8. 23
VWL499 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19220630 30/6/22
VWL226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19220605 [About 5th June 1922]
VWL483 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19211222 22/12/21

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