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
VWL1242 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen and Isobel Holst 19340525 [25 May l934]
VWL716 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19340520 [20 May 1935]
VWL1241 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340513 [13th May 1934]
VWL1239 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19340506 May 6th [1934]
VWL1195 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340425 [25th April 1934]
VWL1236 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Clark 19340424 April 24th [1934]
VWL3912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vera Hockman 19340422 [22 or 23 April 1934]
VWL1235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19340413 Friday [13 April 1934]
VWL4827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193404-- [April 1934]
VWL1354 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 193404-- [April 1934?]
VWL1231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19340326 March 26 [about 1934?]
VWL1198 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340317 [17th March 1934]
VWL1199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19340317 Sat: [March 17th 1934]
VWL1197 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19340311 March 11 [1934]
VWL1353 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 193403-- [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]
VWL3712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340205 Monday [February 5 1934]
VWL1184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19340128 Sunday [28th January 1934]
VWL1183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19340122 [22nd January 1934]
VWL1182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage at the BBC 19340118 Jan 18 [1934]
VWL1122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19340103 [3 January 1934]
VWL3668 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 193401-- [January 1934]
VWL4868 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 1934---- [1934]
VWL4465 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 1934---- [1934]
VWL5172 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Rennie Emerson 1934---- 1934
VWL1349 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1934---- [?1934]
VWL1350 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 1934---- [Early 1930s]
VWL3901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1934---- [1934?]
VWL1348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 1934---- [Sometime 1930-1934]

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