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
VWL939 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310809 August 9 [1931]
VWL930 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310802 [2nd August 1931]
VWL1146 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [about August 1931]
VWL3883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193108-- [August 1931]
VWL1147 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 193108-- [?August 1931]
VWL4443 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19310728 July 28 [1931?]
VWL928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310724 [24 July 1931]
VWL927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310720 [c 20 July 1931]
VWL926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310719 [19th July 1931]
VWL925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310714 [14 July 1931]
VWL923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310712 July 12 [1931]
VWL922 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310702 [2nd July 1931]
VWL4818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19310701 [1 July 1931]
VWL4093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Martin Shaw 193107-- [after 5 July, 1931]
VWL920 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310623 [23rd? June 1931]
VWL919 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19310621 June 21 [1931]
VWL918 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310620 [20th June 1931]
VWL917 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Sumsion 19310614 [14 June 1931]
VWL913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310517 [17 May 1931]
VWL912 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker, Nora Day and Helen Bidder 19310517 May 17th 31
VWL911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310426 [26th April 1931]
VWL4768 Letter from Adeline Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310419 Sunday [19 April, 1931]
VWL909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310405 April 5 [1931]
VWL1156 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193104-- [April 1931]
VWL1155 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 193104-- [April 1931]
VWL908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310329 [29 March 1931]
VWL906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19310322 [22 March 1931]
VWL4601 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 19310319 [19 March 1931]
VWL905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19310307 March 7 [1931]
VWL904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310306 [6th March 1931]

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