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
VWL575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250113 Jan 13 [1925]
VWL576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250205 [5th February 1925]
VWL586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192501-- [January 1925]
VWL468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald F. Tovey 19270303 March 3 [1927]
VWL978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360825 Aug 25 [1936]
VWL2330 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christian Darnton 19511212 Dec 12th 1951
VWL490 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 19220202 2/2/22
VWL3002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Butterworth 19490525 25th May, 1949
VWL3375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19580215 February 15th 1958.
VWL584 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19250508 [On or about 8 May 1925]
VWL447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350414 April 14 [1935]
VWL583 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19250501 [About 1 May 1925]
VWL3571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19571001 Oct 1st 1957
VWL3845 Letter from Olin Downes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19430825 August 25, 1943
VWL3904 Letter from Olin Downes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530818 August 18, 1953
VWL3910 Letter from Olin Downes to LeRoy Van Hoesen jr 19550602 June 2, 1955
VWL488 Letter from Lucy Broadwood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220129 Jan. 29. 1922
VWL3909 Letter from LeRoy Van Hoesen, jr to Olin Downes 19550527 May 27, 1955
VWL492 Letter from Harold Child to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220218 18 Feb. 1922
VWL3962 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19330901 Sep 1, [1933]
VWL3961 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19251111 Nov 11, [1925]
VWL744 Letter from Frederick Stock to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350625 25 June 1935
VWL2375 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520307 7th March, 1952
VWL493 Letter from Crompton Llewellyn Davies to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220227 27 Feb 1922
VWL588 Letter from Carl Stoeckel to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19250616 June 16th, 1925.
VWL587 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19250519 Tuesday [19th May 1925]
VWL354 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19220608 June 8 [1922]
VWL1179 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19340103 Wed [3rd January 1934]
VWL1689 BBC internal memorandum from Sir Adrian Boult to Arthur Bliss 19420915 September 15th 1942

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