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.

Searching:
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
VWL5274 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Philip Hope Edward Bagenal 19230410 10/4/23
VWL5244 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to May Harrison 19360215 February 16 1936
VWL5132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of The Listener 19350320 [20 March, 1935]
VWL5059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Musical Times 193504-- [April 1935]
VWL5057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of Music and Letters 19350308 March 8, 1935.
VWL5042 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19350211 [11 February 1935]
VWL4904 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19361215 Dec 15 [1936]
VWL4857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 19350326 March 26 [1935]
VWL4727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to K.J. Burrell 19580328 March 28th 1958.
VWL4665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Else Headlam-Morley 19350504 May 4 [1935]
VWL4632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 19361217 December 17 [1936]
VWL4630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denis Richards 19521119 19th November, 1952.
VWL4628 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Denis Richards 19530128 28th January, 1953.
VWL4627 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 193511-- [November 1935]
VWL4626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eva Hubback 19350203 Feb 3 [1935]
VWL4625 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19340622 Friday [22 June 1934]
VWL4491 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 194-1006 Oct 6 [1940s?]
VWL3962 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19330901 Sep 1, [1933]
VWL3961 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19251111 Nov 11, [1925]
VWL3960 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220409 April 9
VWL3757 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550922 September 22nd, 1955.
VWL3699 Letter from Alan Bush to Ursula Ralph Vaughan Williams 19590120 January 20th, 1959
VWL3668 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Mullinar 193401-- [January 1934]
VWL3619 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19480923 23rd September, 1948.
VWL3502 Piece on Ralph Vaughan Williams by John Ireland 195809-- [1958]
VWL3454 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19561223 December 23rd 1956.
VWL3450 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19561201 [December 1st 1956]
VWL3434 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19561013 October 13th 1956.
VWL3433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19561013 October 13th 1956.
VWL3020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19490605 June 5/49

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