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.

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Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3922 Letter from Ilse to Alan Bush 19370131 31/1/37.
VWL3736 Letter from Alan Bush to Arnold Goldsbrough 19370131 January 31st, 1936. [i.e. 1937]
VWL3723 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370130 30.1.37.
VWL3724 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19370129 January 29, [1937]
VWL3725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stephanie Pinthus 19370126 January 26th, 1937.
VWL3733 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370123 23.1.37.
VWL238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19370122 Jan 22 [1937]
VWL3737 Letter from Peter and Ilse to Alan Bush 19370117 Sunday, 17/1/37.
VWL3921 Letter from Peter and Ilse [Meyer] to Alan Bush 19370115 15/1/37.
VWL3935 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 1937---- Sunday [1937?]
VWL4905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1937---- [late 1930s?]
VWL4725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Douglas 1937---- [March 1937?]
VWL512 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1937---- [1937?]
VWL4723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Keith Douglas 1937---- [Spring 1937]
VWL1117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19361231 [31 December 1936]
VWL1116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361231 Dec 31 [1936]
VWL1115 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ethel Colman 19361226 Dec 26: 1936
VWL4902 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19361226 Dec 26 [1936?]
VWL1114 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361226 December 26 [1936?]
VWL1113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361226 [26th December 1936]
VWL4904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19361215 Dec 15 [1936]
VWL3654 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19361207 7.12.36.
VWL4619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 193612-- [December, 1936]
VWL1109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19361127 [27th November 1936]
VWL4002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19361121 Nov 21 [1936]
VWL1107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361118 [18th November 1936]
VWL4722 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Wadham 19361102 Monday [2 November 1936]
VWL4721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Wadham 19361101 November 1 [1936]
VWL1093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19361022 [?22 October] 1936
VWL983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360927 [27th September 1936]

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