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.

Searching:
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
VWL709 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19291102 [2 November 1929]
VWL758 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19360714 July 14th [1936]
VWL797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Madeleine Dring 19450219 Feb 19
VWL806 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19351018 [18 October 1935]
VWL813 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19351128 28 November 1935
VWL824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 192903-- [March 1929]
VWL858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19300622 [22nd June 1930]
VWL867 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Gregory Mason 19300819 August 19 [1930]
VWL885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19301221 [21st December 1930]
VWL891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193006-- [About June 1930]
VWL896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310104 [4th January 1931]
VWL931 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19360208 Feb 8 [1936]
VWL937 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19360315 March 15 [1936]
VWL984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19361006 [About 6th October 1936]
VWL1009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19320916 September 16 [1932]
VWL1014 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19320922 [22 September, 1932]
VWL1040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Benjamin Britten 19330119 Jan 19 1933
VWL1065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330710 [10 July 1933]
VWL1094 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330830 Wednesday [?30th August 1933]
VWL1098 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330925 [25 September 1933]
VWL1099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19331001 [About 1 October 1933]
VWL1106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr. Bridgewater (BBC) 19361025 Sunday [25 October 1936]
VWL1111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19361214 14 Dec 1936
VWL1121 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19331112 Nov 12 [1933]
VWL1123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19331113 [13 November 1933]
VWL1127 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19331215 [15th December 1933]
VWL1139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19370131 January 31 [1937]
VWL1170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL1219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390731 [31 July 1939]
VWL1225 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390918 [18 September 1939]

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