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
VWL1633 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19420308 [About 8th March 1942]
VWL1378 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19381004 [4th October 1938]
VWL1375 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19380919 [19th September 1938]
VWL1184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19340128 Sunday [28th January 1934]
VWL1182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage at the BBC 19340118 Jan 18 [1934]
VWL1181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage at the BBC 19340113 Jan 13 1934
VWL1179 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19340103 Wed [3rd January 1934]
VWL978 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19360825 Aug 25 [1936]
VWL760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker and Nora Day 192207-- July 1922
VWL759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Scholes 192201-- [January 1922]
VWL745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1929---- [?1929]
VWL744 Letter from Frederick Stock to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350625 25 June 1935
VWL588 Letter from Carl Stoeckel to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19250616 June 16th, 1925.
VWL587 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19250519 Tuesday [19th May 1925]
VWL586 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192501-- [January 1925]
VWL585 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19250522 [22nd May 1925]
VWL584 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19250508 [On or about 8 May 1925]
VWL583 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19250501 [About 1 May 1925]
VWL576 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250205 [5th February 1925]
VWL575 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19250113 Jan 13 [1925]
VWL493 Letter from Crompton Llewellyn Davies to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220227 27 Feb 1922
VWL492 Letter from Harold Child to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220218 18 Feb. 1922
VWL490 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cecil Sharp 19220202 2/2/22
VWL488 Letter from Lucy Broadwood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220129 Jan. 29. 1922
VWL468 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Donald F. Tovey 19270303 March 3 [1927]
VWL450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Longman 19190606 6/6/19
VWL447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350414 April 14 [1935]
VWL354 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19220608 June 8 [1922]
VWL226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19220605 [About 5th June 1922]

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