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
VWL918 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310620 [20th June 1931]
VWL946 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360519 [19th May 1936]
VWL958 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19311030 [30th October 1931]
VWL978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360825 Aug 25 [1936]
VWL1003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19320612 [12th June 1932]
VWL1195 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340425 [25th April 1934]
VWL1267 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340722 [22nd July 1934]
VWL1348 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 1934---- [Sometime 1930-1934]
VWL911 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310426 [26th April 1931]
VWL922 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310702 [2nd July 1931]
VWL949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310918 [18th September 1931]
VWL955 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360715 [15th July 1936]
VWL1027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321229 [29th December 1932]
VWL1113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361226 [26th December 1936]
VWL1116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361231 Dec 31 [1936]
VWL1185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340217 Sat 17th [February 1934]
VWL903 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310131 [31st January 1931]
VWL904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310306 [6th March 1931]
VWL1264 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340705 [5th July 1934]
VWL1269 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340725 [About 25th July 1934]
VWL1272 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340805 Sunday [?5th August 1934]
VWL1310 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340923 [23rd September 1934]
VWL185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director of ‘English Dance Players’ 19350114 January 14 [1935]
VWL1609 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director-General (BBC) 19391018 Oct. 18 [1939]
VWL3042 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Don Ray 19500901 1st September, 1950
VWL468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald F. Tovey 19270303 March 3 [1927]
VWL183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald Francis Tovey 19350103 Jan 3rd 1935
VWL1448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald Francis Tovey 19381210 Dec 10 [1938]
VWL3406 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19560520 May 20th 1956
VWL2688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19530528 28th May 1953

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