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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL4299 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 191603-- [Spring 1916]
VWL1617 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major Percy S.G. O’Donnell (BBC) 19391019 Oct 19 [1939]
VWL4038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19420424 April 24 [1942]
VWL4039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19400529 May 29 [1940]
VWL4040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19400604 June 4 [1940]
VWL4037 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 1942---- [about 1942]
VWL4984 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Leslie Arthur Boosey 19401031 October 31 [1940]
VWL448 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to L.J. Pollard 19190203 3/2/19
VWL1719 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Tindall Robertson 19421024 Oct 24 [1942]
VWL4436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 1940---- [1940?]
VWL5087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19410310 March 10 [1941]
VWL1382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19400202 Feb 2 [1940]
VWL1431 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19400825 [25th August 1940]
VWL1442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19401004 Oct 4th [1940]
VWL683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193909-- Sept [1939]
VWL685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193910-- [Autumn 1939]
VWL1464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19401031 [31 October 1940]
VWL1507 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 1940---- [1940]
VWL1520 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19410118 Jan 18 [1941]
VWL1608 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19391012 Oct 12 [1939]
VWL4076 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Fisher 19160403 3 April 1916
VWL1543 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Farjeon 19410627 June 27 [c.1941]
VWL406 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19140701 [1 July 1914 ]
VWL4075 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19161205 Dec 5th 1916
VWL432 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19170804 Aug 4 [1917]
VWL1433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Granville Bantock 19400828 August 28 [1940]
VWL1430 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Granville Bantock 19400821 August 21 [1940]
VWL3885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19391028 [late October 1939]
VWL3886 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 194----- Nov 2 [1940s]
VWL1660 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19420505 [5th May 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