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
VWL805 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19351018 Oct 18 [1935]
VWL802 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19351006 October 6 [1935]
VWL800 Letter from Laurence Irving to Joan Western 19350928 28.9.35
VWL799 Letter from Archibald Davison to Joan Western 19350926 26.9.35
VWL787 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 192404-- April, 1924
VWL785 Letter from Walter Damrosch to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350919 September 19, 1935.
VWL781 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19350916 September 16 [1935]
VWL770 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav, Isobel and Imogen Holst, Vally Lasker and Nora Day 192210-- [?October 1922]
VWL760 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker and Nora Day 192207-- July 1922
VWL756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Rothenstein 19350710 July 10 [1935]
VWL744 Letter from Frederick Stock to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19350625 25 June 1935
VWL739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 1925---- Thursday [?about 1925]
VWL727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19350607 [7th June 1935]
VWL715 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 1920---- [Late 1920 or early 1921]
VWL680 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19290721 July 21 [1929]
VWL651 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193809-- [September 1938]
VWL630 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19280225 Feb 25 [1928]
VWL589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19251101 [About 1 November 1925]
VWL550 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19360710 [?10, July 1936]
VWL539 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19231231 Dec 31.[1923]
VWL533 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 193504-- [Earlier part of] 1935
VWL532 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Goldsbrough 193504-- Sunday [?April 1935]
VWL528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 1939---- Sunday [?1939]
VWL513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230402 April 2nd 23.
VWL492 Letter from Harold Child to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220218 18 Feb. 1922
VWL464 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Edward Sayle 19200319 19/3/20
VWL463 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Edward Sayle 19200314 14/3/20
VWL459 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fritz Hart 19200308 [About 8th March 1920]
VWL447 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350414 April 14 [1935]
VWL446 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19181212 12.12.18

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