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
VWL3379 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19580209 February 9th 1958
VWL3450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19561201 [December 1st 1956]
VWL4615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350927 27 Sept 35
VWL1093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19361022 [?22 October] 1936
VWL1091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A. Wynn (BBC) 19361010 Oct 10th [1936]
VWL748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A. Wynn (BBC) 19350626 June 26 [1935]
VWL543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19240322 22/3/24
VWL3193 Letter from Percy Grainger to Ursula Vaughan Williams 19580925 Sept. 25, 1958
VWL2598 Letter from Patrick Hadley to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480508 8 May 1948
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
VWL3291 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560217 Friday 17/II/56
VWL3565 Letter from John Barbirolli to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571104 4/xi/57
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
VWL3903 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 192605-- Thursday [May or June 1926]
VWL3958 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140329 Sunday [29 March, 1914]
VWL5229 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19190412 April 12 [1919]
VWL3902 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19320415 April 15 [1932]
VWL3919 Letter from Gustav Holst to Adeline Vaughan Williams 19310419 Tuesday [19 April, 1931]
VWL3959 Letter from Gustav Holst Ralph Vaughan Williams 192205-- Friday [May, 1922]
VWL744 Letter from Frederick Stock to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350625 25 June 1935
VWL2402 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471119 19th November, 1947.
VWL2592 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480416 16th April, 1948
VWL1446 Letter from Donald Francis Tovey to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19381129 29th November, 1938.
VWL3778 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19561206 6th December 1956.
VWL3709 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571231 December 31st, 1957.
VWL3788 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19571228 December 28th, 1957.
VWL3928 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390412 12th April, 1939
VWL704 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350422 22/4/35.

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