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
VWL262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 18980626 Sunday [26 June 1898]
VWL353 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 191606-- [Late June 1916]
VWL432 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19170804 Aug 4 [1917]
VWL113 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1901---- [1901?]
VWL139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190607-- [July 1906]
VWL159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 190801-- [?January 1908]
VWL999 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19320320 March 20 [1932]
VWL1024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19321125 Nov 25th [1932]
VWL1055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19330415 [About 15th April 1933]
VWL1199 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19340317 Sat: [March 17th 1934]
VWL745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1929---- [?1929]
VWL851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19300404 [4th April 1930]
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]
VWL3818 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1935--- Xmas Eve [1935?]
VWL3819 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193309-- [September 1933?]
VWL3820 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1932---- [1930s]
VWL3822 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1928---- [about 1928]
VWL3824 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1930---- [1930?]
VWL3835 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19321115 Nov 15 [1932]
VWL3843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1940---- [1940s?]
VWL3852 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19521015 15th October, 1952.
VWL3853 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19371o-- [autumn 1937?]
VWL3866 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19350417 [late April 1935]
VWL3877 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 194----- [1940s?]
VWL3891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 193----- [December 1930s]
VWL3895 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1931---- [1931]
VWL3851 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19530120 20th January, 1953.
VWL3854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 1929---- [1929?]
VWL3857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Grace Williams 19270218 Feb 18 [1927]

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