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
VWL1043 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19330201 Wed [1st Feb 1933]
VWL1042 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330128 [28 January 1933]
VWL1036 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193302-- [Late February 1933]
VWL1034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193301-- [About January 1933]
VWL1029 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330123 [23 January 1933]
VWL1028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330120 Saturday [20 January 1933]
VWL1021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19321115 [15 November 1932]
VWL1006 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19320807 [7 August 1932]
VWL991 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19311230 [30 December 1931]
VWL988 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19311217 [17 December 1931]
VWL986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19311214 [14 December 1931]
VWL985 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19311129 [29 November 1931]
VWL976 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19311122 [22 November 1931]
VWL975 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19311122 Nov 22 [1931]
VWL974 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19311122 Nov 22nd [1931]
VWL973 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Wright (BBC) 19311119 [About 19th November 1931]
VWL972 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19311117 November 17 [1931]
VWL971 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19311106 6 November 1931
VWL965 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19311103 [3 November 1931]
VWL957 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19311024 [24 October 1931]
VWL928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310724 [24 July 1931]
VWL925 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310714 [14 July 1931]
VWL913 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310517 [17 May 1931]
VWL909 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310405 April 5 [1931]
VWL908 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310329 [29 March 1931]
VWL907 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult at the BBC 19310322 [22 March 1931]
VWL901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19310125 [25 January 1931]
VWL891 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Peter Montgomery 193006-- [About June 1930]
VWL863 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Western 19360109 Jan 9 [1936]
VWL836 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19300106 [6 January 1930]

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