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
VWL135 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 190303-- [March 1903]
VWL142 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19060820 [20 August 1906]
VWL238 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19370122 Jan 22 [1937]
VWL335 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 191107-- [July 1911]
VWL373 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Farrar 19110708 [8th July 1911]
VWL612 Letter from Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19261101 Nov: 1st 1926
VWL623 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19271108 Nov 8th [1927]
VWL1028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330120 Saturday [20 January 1933]
VWL1226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19391231 Dec 31 [1939]
VWL1263 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to W.W. Thompson 19340617 June 17th [1934]
VWL1274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Henry Wood 19380124 Jan 24 [1938]
VWL1275 Letter from Sir Henry Wood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19380125 25th January 1938.
VWL1332 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380703 July 3 (1938)
VWL1368 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to OUP 19380725 July 25 [1938]
VWL1750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult (BBC) 19430215 Feb 15 [1943]
VWL1790 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Henry Wood 19430625 June 25 [1943]
VWL1856 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19460411 Thursday [April 11 1946]
VWL1866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19440218 Feb 18 [1944]
VWL1906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage (BBC) 19440319 March 19 [1944]
VWL2328 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lady Jessie Wood 19471015 15th October, 1947.
VWL3010 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Scott 194----- [1940s?]
VWL3819 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193309-- [September 1933?]
VWL3821 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1933---- [September 1933?]
VWL3887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931?]
VWL4764 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19380608 [8] June, 1938
VWL4885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230915 [mid-September 1923]
VWL5227 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 1903---- Tuesday [1903]
VWL5274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Hope Edward Bagenal 19230410 10/4/23

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