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
VWL5195 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390320 20 March 1939
VWL5231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Philip Hendy 19540324 [March 24 1954]
VWL1300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19380506 [6 May 1938]
VWL3140 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19491020 Oct 20 [1949]
VWL3954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 1944---- Oct 18 [1944]
VWL1872 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19450207 Feb 7 [1945]
VWL2853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19481124 [24 Nov 1948]
VWL5197 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19460723 July 23 [1946]
VWL5198 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19550528 May 28th 1955
VWL3646 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 194405-- [?May 1944]
VWL3953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19500108 Jan 8 [1950]
VWL3475 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19570329 March 29th 1957½
VWL5196 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440802 Aug 2d [1944]
VWL5199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19430907 Sept 7 [1943]
VWL2734 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult and Ann Boult 19531014 Oct 14 [1953]
VWL3726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19370920 [20 September, 1937]
VWL3047 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified correspondent 194----- Feb 15 [1940s?]
VWL5142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unidentified gentleman 19571020 20? October, 1957
VWL5200 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ann Boult 19491007 Friday [7 October 1949]
VWL5181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cliff Goodchild 19550104 January 4th, 1955.
VWL5208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Snowman 195-0905 September 5 [1950?]
VWL5144 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daphne 1940---- [ca 1940]
VWL5203 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to David Griffiths 19420214 Feb 14 [1942]
VWL185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Director of ‘English Dance Players’ 19350114 January 14 [1935]
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
VWL2706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19530725 28th July 1953
VWL5062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to E.J. Moeran 19350208 February 8 [1935]
VWL5060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edgar Stafford Arthur Herbert 19190101 January 1st 1919
VWL3218 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19551110 November 10th 1955

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