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
VWL675 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H.G. Fiedler 193906-- Sunday [?June 1939]
VWL2043 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H. Raymond Barnett 19460620 June 20 [?1946]
VWL1775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to H. Raymond Barnett 194605-- [about May 1946]
VWL923 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310712 July 12 [1931]
VWL814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19271001 [October 1927]
VWL927 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19310720 [c 20 July 1931]
VWL796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gwen Raverat 19270701 [July 1927]
VWL3793 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500607 7th June, 1950.
VWL3796 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500711 July 11 [1950]
VWL3791 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19490824 24th August, 1949.
VWL3798 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500802 2nd. August, 1950.
VWL3800 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500401 April 1 [1950]
VWL3797 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500726 26th July, 1950.
VWL3795 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500702 2 July 1950
VWL3799 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500330 30th March, 1950.
VWL3801 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500412 12th April, 1950.
VWL3792 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500516 May 16 [1950]
VWL3794 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guy Oldham 19500620 June 20 [1950]
VWL2776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19480715 15th July, 1948
VWL770 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav, Isobel and Imogen Holst, Vally Lasker and Nora Day 192210-- [?October 1922]
VWL130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190105-- [?May 1901]
VWL233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 189903-- [March 1899]
VWL234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1898---- [1898?]
VWL247 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 189707-- [July 1897]
VWL264 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 189907-- [Late July 1899]
VWL1164 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193109-- [September, 1931]
VWL1235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19340413 Friday [13 April 1934]
VWL874 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19301031 [About 31 October 1930]
VWL1084 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193303-- [Early March 1933]
VWL1132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193312-- [December 1933]

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