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
VWL3571 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19571001 Oct 1st 1957
VWL2625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19530128 28th January, 1953
VWL3214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19551030 October 30th 1955
VWL2841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19540708 July 8th 1954.
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
VWL730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian and Ann Boult 19350607 [7 June 1935]
VWL3452 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian and Ann Boult 19561213 December 13th 1956.
VWL1255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19371205 Dec 5 [1937]
VWL1738 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19421226 Dec 26 [1942]
VWL1814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19431026 Oct 26 [1943]
VWL1580 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19410912 Sept 12 [1941?]
VWL1815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19431029 Oct 29 [1943]
VWL1268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19340722 July 22 [1934]
VWL1595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391003 October 3 [1939]
VWL1688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19420909 Sept 9 [1942]
VWL1690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19420921 Sept 21 [1942]
VWL1721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19421025 Oct 25 [1942]
VWL1615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19411228 Dec 28 1941
VWL1353 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 193403-- [March 1934]
VWL1600 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391009 [9 October 1939]
VWL1625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19420104 Jan 4 1942
VWL2647 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.J. Patterson 19530211 11 Feb. 1953
VWL1046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.H. Fox-Strangways 19330220 Feb. 20 [?1933]
VWL4624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.E. Harvey 19520430 30th April, 1952.
VWL982 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A. Wynn (BBC) 19360921 Sep 20 [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]
VWL4547 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to a representative of the British Legion 19231019 October 19 [1923]
VWL3630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to ? Cecil Sharp 19061127 27 Nov 1906

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