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
VWL1638 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391107 [7th November 1939]
VWL1622 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19391106 [Early November 1939]
VWL1621 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elisabeth Lutyens 19391106 Nov 6 [1939]
VWL686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193911-- [November 1939]
VWL1620 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult 19391031 [October 31 1939]
VWL3885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19391028 [late October 1939]
VWL1619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss M. Goodchild 19391025 Oct 25 [1939]
VWL1618 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19391024 Oct 24 [1939]
VWL1616 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391019 19th October [1939]
VWL1617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell (BBC) 19391019 Oct 19 [1939]
VWL5000 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19391015 Oct 15 [1939]
VWL1607 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL1605 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391012 [12th October 1939]
VWL1608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL1602 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19391010 [10 October 1939]
VWL1600 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391009 [9 October 1939]
VWL1598 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19391007 [7th October 1939]
VWL1596 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Myra Hess 19391005 Oct 5 [1939]
VWL684 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193910-- Sunday [October 1939]
VWL685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193910-- [Autumn 1939]
VWL4906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193910-- [autumn 1939]
VWL2723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19390925 Sept 25 [?1939 ]
VWL1225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390918 [18 September 1939]
VWL1223 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390915 [15th September 1939]
VWL1224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390915 [15th September 1939]
VWL3741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390907 Thursday, [7 September, 1939?]
VWL1222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390906 [6th September 1939]
VWL683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193909-- Sept [1939]
VWL701 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193909-- [September 1939]
VWL1221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19390823 Aug 23 [1939?]

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