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
VWL606 Letter from Harold Child to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19260609 9 June l926
VWL642 Letter from H.G. Fiedler to Ralph Vaughan Williams 193707-- [July 1937]
VWL3962 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19330901 Sep 1, [1933]
VWL3960 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220409 April 9
VWL3903 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 192605-- Thursday [May or June 1926]
VWL3958 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140329 Sunday [29 March, 1914]
VWL3902 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19320415 April 15 [1932]
VWL3961 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19251111 Nov 11, [1925]
VWL880 Letter from Gustav Holst to Edwin Evans 19301203 Dec. 3rd, 1930.
VWL886 Letter from Gustav Holst to Edwin Evans 19301223 Dec 23 [1930]
VWL3959 Letter from Gustav Holst Ralph Vaughan Williams 192205-- Friday [May, 1922]
VWL2613 Letter from Gilmour Jenkins to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530119 19th Jan. 1953
VWL393 Letter from Gervase Elwes to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19140328 March 28th l914
VWL2619 Letter from Gerald Finzi to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530122 Jan 22nd [1953]
VWL3422 Letter from George Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560907 Sep 7. 1956
VWL2636 Letter from George Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530202 Feb 2. 1953
VWL3431 Letter from George Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19561008 Oct. 8. 1956
VWL883 Letter from Geoffrey Keynes to Edwin Evans 19301216 16.xii.30.
VWL1425 Letter from G.M. Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19400612 June 12 1940
VWL3289 Letter from G.M. Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19560216 Feb. 16. 1956
VWL2483 Letter from G.M. Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19521011 Oct 11th 1952
VWL1459 Letter from G.M. Trevelyan to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19401008 Oct 8 1940
VWL2532 Letter from from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19480109 9th January, 1948.
VWL864 Letter from Frederic Wilkinson to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19360115 15th January, 1936.
VWL670 Letter from Evangeline Farrer and the Conductors of the LHMF choirs to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19290501 May Day 1929
VWL2378 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520313 March 13th., 1952
VWL2423 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520530 May 30th., 1952.
VWL2460 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520819 Aug 19th [1952]
VWL2472 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19520922 22nd September 1952
VWL2736 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19531019 19th October 1953

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