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
VWL1087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330824 [24 August 1933]
VWL1704 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19421014 Oct 14th [1942]
VWL589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19251101 [About 1 November 1925]
VWL3883 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193108-- [August 1931]
VWL3862 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19380520 [about 20 May 1938]
VWL3876 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19360226 [Late February 1936]
VWL3855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1930s?]
VWL3885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19391028 [late October 1939]
VWL3840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935---- Jan 19 [mid-1930s?]
VWL3841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935---- [mid 1930s?]
VWL3849 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19510926 26th September, 1951.
VWL2202 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510308 March 8 [1951]
VWL2222 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gilmour Jenkins 19510502 [2nd May 1951]
VWL1379 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19400127 Jan 27 [1940]
VWL1794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Parker 19430731 July 31 [1943?]
VWL4284 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Richmond 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL4395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evangeline Farrer 19080707 July 7th [1908]
VWL2220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510430 April 30 [1951]
VWL2230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19510517 17th May, 1951
VWL4286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dennis Arundell 19570303 March 3rd 1957.
VWL2797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19540302 March 2nd 1954.
VWL1110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19361207 Dec 7 [1936]
VWL369 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110429 Apr. 29/11
VWL125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110311 [About 11th March 1911]
VWL1589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19411117 [?17 November 1941]
VWL954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310920 September 20 [1931]
VWL1234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330408 April 8 [1933 or earlier]
VWL439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19180220 Feb 20th [1918]
VWL2670 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19530318 18th March, 1953.
VWL2387 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19520403 3rd. April, 1952.

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