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
VWL2841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19540708 July 8th 1954.
VWL4615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350927 27 Sept 35
VWL1093 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19361022 [?22 October] 1936
VWL730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian and Ann Boult 19350607 [7 June 1935]
VWL1255 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19371205 Dec 5 [1937]
VWL1738 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19421226 Dec 26 [1942]
VWL1814 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19431026 Oct 26 [1943]
VWL1580 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19410912 Sept 12 [1941?]
VWL1815 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19431029 Oct 29 [1943]
VWL1268 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19340722 July 22 [1934]
VWL1595 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391003 October 3 [1939]
VWL1688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19420909 Sept 9 [1942]
VWL1690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19420921 Sept 21 [1942]
VWL1721 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19421025 Oct 25 [1942]
VWL1353 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 193403-- [March 1934]
VWL1600 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19391009 [9 October 1939]
VWL1625 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adine O’Neill 19420104 Jan 4 1942
VWL1046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.H. Fox-Strangways 19330220 Feb. 20 [?1933]
VWL4624 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.E. Harvey 19520430 30th April, 1952.
VWL4547 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to a representative of the British Legion 19231019 October 19 [1923]
VWL4551 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to “Moppett” 19551226 December 26th, 1955.
VWL1370 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380817 [17th August 1938]
VWL3587 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary, Society of Authors 19571015 15th October 1957
VWL266 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to René Gatty 189808-- [August 1898]
VWL477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr & Mrs Robert F. McEwen 19210722 [22nd July 1921]
VWL1699 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams Geoffrey Bush 19421012 Oct 14 [1942]
VWL3974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams for Clarence Pinnock 19380502 May 2d 1938
VWL940 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to Edward Elgar 19310909 [9th September 1931]
VWL980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19410821 Aug 21 [?1941]
VWL1436 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19400906 Septr 6, 1940

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