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
VWL1166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL3511 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 195803-- [Early March 1958]
VWL419 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19350414 Sunday [14th April 1935]
VWL504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19221222 22/12/22
VWL505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19230102 [2nd January 1923]
VWL890 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 193003-- [?March 1930]
VWL905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19310307 March 7 [1931]
VWL906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19310322 [22 March 1931]
VWL1137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 1929---- [?1929]
VWL1176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19370503 Monday [3rd May 1937]
VWL506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19230215 [15 February 1923]
VWL1057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330605 June 5 [1933]
VWL726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19350607 June 6 [1935]
VWL854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19300409 [9th April 1930]
VWL1324 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19341104 Nov 4th [1934]
VWL683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193909-- Sept [1939]
VWL1258 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19340527 [27th May 34]
VWL249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350303 [3 March 1935]
VWL1019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19321101 [About 1st November 1932]
VWL1214 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19370919 [19 September 1937]
VWL1464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19401031 [31 October 1940]
VWL1266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19340714 14 JUL 34
VWL4581 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ida Darwin 19200629 June 29 [about 1920?]
VWL1973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ibbs and Tillett 19500111 11 January, 1950
VWL3479 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ian Parrott 19570411 April 11th 1957.
VWL560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Humphrey Proctor-Gregg 19240719 [About 19 July 1924]
VWL1249 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss at Oxford University Press 19371025 [25th October 1937]
VWL4765 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (Oxford University Press) 19400916 September 16 [ca 1940]
VWL1584 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19411106 Nov 6 [1941]
VWL1276 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19380126 [Jan. 26, 1938]

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