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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL2442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19520625 25th June, 1952.
VWL2428 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19520621 June 21st 1952.
VWL2316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Lowe (BBC) 19470814 14th August, 1947.
VWL2292 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19511101 1st. November, 1951.
VWL2283 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19511017 17th October, 1951.
VWL2277 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19511006 Oct 6 1951
VWL2180 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Gray 19380103 Jan 3rd [1938]
VWL2091 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19460829 Aug 29 [1946]
VWL1689 BBC internal memorandum from Sir Adrian Boult to Arthur Bliss 19420915 September 15th 1942
VWL1326 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19341107 [About 7th Nov 1934]
VWL1325 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Bliss 19341106 Nov 6 [1934]
VWL1323 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19341028 Oct 28 [1934]
VWL1320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Owen Mase (BBC) 19341018 Oct 18 [1934]
VWL1319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19341016 [About 16th October 1934]
VWL1317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nora Day and Vally Lasker 19341014 Oct 14th 34
VWL1316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19341002 Oct 2 [34]
VWL1300 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19380506 [6 May 1938]
VWL1280 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19340819 Sunday [19 August 1934]
VWL1270 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19340727 [27 July 1934]
VWL1132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193312-- [December 1933]
VWL995 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320104 [4th January 1932]
VWL865 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19360126 Sunday [26 January 1936]
VWL830 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19351217 [17 December 1935]
VWL819 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19351202 [2 December 1935]
VWL812 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19351124 [24] Nov. 1935
VWL798 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19350923 September 23 [1935]
VWL782 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19350916 September 16 [1935]
VWL779 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19350911 Sep 11 [1935]
VWL766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19350816 August 16th [1935]
VWL765 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19350805 Monday [about 5th August 1935]

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