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
VWL705 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19350427 April 27 [1935]
VWL706 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19350510 May 10 [1935]
VWL707 Letter from Clive Wigram to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350517 17th. May, 1935.
VWL708 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19291102 [2nd November 1929]
VWL709 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19291102 [2 November 1929]
VWL710 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19291201 [1 December 1929]
VWL711 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19291217 Dec 17 [1929]
VWL712 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19291217 [17 December, 1929]
VWL713 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Pablo Casals 19291229 December 29 [1929]
VWL714 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 191----- [before 1918]
VWL715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 1920---- [Late 1920 or early 1921]
VWL716 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19340520 [20 May 1935]
VWL717 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19350603 June 3 [1935]
VWL718 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19350506 [6th June 1935]
VWL719 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19350219 June 6 [1935]
VWL720 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Sydney Cockerell 19350607 June 7th [1935]
VWL721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Boris Ord 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL722 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Edward German 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL723 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL724 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Armstrong Gibbs 1922---- [Summer 1922]
VWL725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19350607 June 6 [1935]
VWL727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350607 [7th June 1935]
VWL728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Robert Longman 19350607 [7 June 1935]
VWL729 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19350607 June 7 [1935]
VWL730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian and Ann Boult 19350607 [7 June 1935]
VWL731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19350608 [8th June 1935]
VWL732 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19350608 [8th June 1935]
VWL733 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19350608 June 8th [1935]
VWL734 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rev. Greville Cooke 19350609 [9th June 1935]

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