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
VWL447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350414 April 14 [1935]
VWL715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 1920---- [Late 1920 or early 1921]
VWL1261 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19340606 [Early June 1934]
VWL1280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19340819 Sunday [19 August 1934]
VWL1029 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330123 [23 January 1933]
VWL1260 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19340606 [6th June 1934]
VWL3450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19561201 [December 1st 1956]
VWL1690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19420921 Sept 21 [1942]
VWL5057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of Music and Letters 19350308 March 8, 1935.
VWL800 Letter from Laurence Irving to Joan Western 19350928 28.9.35
VWL2863 Letter from John Ireland to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19540822 August 22nd 1954
VWL1243 Letter from Isobel Holst to Ralph and Adeline Vaughan Williams 19340603 June 3. 1934
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]
VWL3960 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220409 April 9
VWL3961 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19251111 Nov 11, [1925]
VWL880 Letter from Gustav Holst to Edwin Evans 19301203 Dec. 3rd, 1930.
VWL886 Letter from Gustav Holst to Edwin Evans 19301223 Dec 23 [1930]
VWL744 Letter from Frederick Stock to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350625 25 June 1935
VWL799 Letter from Archibald Davison to Joan Western 19350926 26.9.35
VWL3699 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Ralph Vaughan Williams 19590120 January 20th, 1959
VWL3757 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550922 September 22nd, 1955.
VWL298 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 18991231 31st December [1899]
VWL910 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19310409 April 9 [1931]
VWL1007 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320824 Wednesday [24th August 1932]
VWL4625 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19340622 Friday [22 June 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