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
VWL4684 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 1950---- Thursday [1950]
VWL4675 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19420105 Monday night, [5 January, 1942]
VWL1143 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19370225 Feb 25 [1937]
VWL1233 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19340404 April 4 [1934]
VWL1076 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19330804 August 4 [1933]
VWL1628 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19420114 Jan 14 [1942]
VWL3246 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19260910 Friday September 10 [1926]
VWL3244 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 1935---- August 22 [1935?]
VWL3251 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 192703-- Wednesday [March 1927?]
VWL3241 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19221103 Nov 3 [1922]
VWL3252 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Marion Scott 19270208 Tuesday [8 Feb 1927]
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL4525 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1946-- [November, 1946]
VWL4533 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19491223 December 23 [1949]
VWL1293 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19340906 Thurs [6th September 1934]
VWL118 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 1899---- Wednesday [1899?]
VWL3902 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19320415 April 15 [1932]
VWL3573 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571005 Oct 5/57.
VWL768 Letter from Marion Scott to Adeline Vaughan Williams 19350819 Aug. 19th 1935
VWL3363 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19560818 August 18th 1956.
VWL3344 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560627 June 27th 1956.
VWL3542 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19570828 August 28th 1957.
VWL2386 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19520403 3rd. April, 1952
VWL4986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Boosey 19401114 Nov 14 [1940]
VWL3533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Barrie Greenwood 19570724 July 24 1957
VWL4693 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19570825 25 Aug 1957
VWL4289 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Brian Trowell 19560304 Sunday [4 March 1956].
VWL3281 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19580627 June 27th 1958.
VWL3664 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19570822 22 August 1957
VWL2149 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19470123 Jan 23 [1947]

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