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
VWL4830 Letter (extract) from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 193601-- [between 15 January and February, 1936]
VWL4455 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 19000409 April 9th, [1900]
VWL4768 Letter from Adeline Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310419 Sunday [19 April, 1931]
VWL2939 Letter from Adeline Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19481230 December 30 [1948]
VWL717 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19350603 June 3 [1935]
VWL3732 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490225 Feb 25 [1949]
VWL1930 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19440826 August 26 [1944]
VWL1845 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19450204 Sunday [4 February 1945]
VWL1883 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19490328 Wednesday [?28 March 1949]
VWL1810 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19431015 October 15 [1943]
VWL1882 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19490317 March 17 [1949]
VWL1643 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19391128 Nov 28 [1939]
VWL2922 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19481229 December 29 [after 1948?]
VWL733 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19350608 June 8th [1935]
VWL1856 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460411 Thursday [April 11 1946]
VWL823 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 192810-- [October 1928]
VWL2200 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19510301 [March 1st 1951]
VWL4594 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19230427 Friday [27 April 1923]
VWL4671 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1945---- Monday [1945]
VWL4672 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460105 Saturday night [5.1.46]
VWL4680 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19461107 Thursday [7.11.46]
VWL475 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19201008 Friday [8 October 1920]
VWL587 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19250519 Tuesday [19th May 1925]
VWL2339 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 195103-- Sat [March 1951]
VWL1887 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19450509 Wednesday [May 9 1945]
VWL4625 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19340622 Friday [22 June 1934]
VWL4683 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1948---- Friday [October 1948]
VWL4758 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 194----- Sunday [1940s]
VWL4923 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 195102-- Thursday [February 1951]
VWL4676 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 194206-- Friday, [June, 1942]

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