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
VWL1259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19340530 [30 May 1934]
VWL1273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19380103 Jan 3d [1938]
VWL3089 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19550517 May 17th 1955.
VWL3256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19560103 Jan 3rd 1956
VWL548 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193603-- Tuesday [March 1936]
VWL1550 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Blech 194109-- Thurs [mid-1941]
VWL1668 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Blech 19420525 May 25 [1942]
VWL1677 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Blech 19420728 July 28 [1942?]
VWL1393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Farjeon 19400412 April 12 [1940]
VWL1543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Farjeon 19410627 June 27 [c.1941]
VWL3130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19491025 Oct 25 [1949]
VWL2571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19480225 Feb 25th [1948]
VWL2661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19530218 18th February, 1953
VWL3080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19491115 [On or about 15 November 1949]
VWL2244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19510521 [21 May 1951]
VWL2052 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 1950---- Tuesday [?about 1950]
VWL2390 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19520409 9th April, 1952
VWL3116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19491109 9th November, 1949
VWL3123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19491101 [About 1 November 1949]
VWL2766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19480605 June 5 [?1948]
VWL3075 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19550418 April 18th 1955
VWL3122 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19491101 [About 2 November 1949]
VWL3163 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Havergal Brian 19490810 10th August 1949
VWL5192 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hector Home Walker 19530704 July 4th 1953.
VWL5004 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henri Temianka 19371203 Dec 3 [1937]
VWL4926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Dexter Truscott 19250617 17/6/25
VWL4927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Dexter Truscott 192606-- June 1926
VWL774 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Nevinson 19350908 Sep 8 [1935]
VWL5270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Walford Davies 19221130 [late November 1922?]
VWL1748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19430205 Feb 5 1943

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