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
VWL958 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19311030 [30th October 1931]
VWL959 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360727 [27 July 1936]
VWL978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360825 Aug 25 [1936]
VWL983 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360927 [27th September 1936]
VWL992 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19320101 Jan 1 [1932]
VWL993 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193101-- Wednesday [January 1931]
VWL994 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321226 December 26 [1932]
VWL1003 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19320612 [12th June 1932]
VWL1008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19320912 [12th September 1932]
VWL1018 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321024 24th October 1932
VWL1027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321229 [29th December 1932]
VWL1035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193302-- [early February 1933]
VWL1039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330116 [16th January 1933]
VWL1045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330210 [10th February 1933]
VWL1051 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330323 March 23 [1933]
VWL1052 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330413 Friday [?13th April 1933]
VWL1079 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340828 Tuesday [28th August 1934]
VWL1080 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193308xa [August 1933]
VWL1088 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330827 Sunday [?27th August 1933]
VWL1094 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330830 Wednesday [?30th August 1933]
VWL1103 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19331018 Oct 18 [1933]
VWL1107 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361118 [18th November 1936]
VWL1113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361226 [26th December 1936]
VWL1114 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361226 December 26 [1936?]
VWL1116 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19361231 Dec 31 [1936]
VWL1119 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19331026 Oct 26 [1933]
VWL1130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193309-- [late September 1933]
VWL1153 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193103-- [?summer 1931]
VWL1180 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340104 Jan 4 [1934]
VWL1185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340217 Sat 17th [February 1934]

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