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
VWL5151 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cuthbert Bates 19390510 [10 May 1939]
VWL4495 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19390501 May 1 [1939]
VWL696 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 193905-- [?May 1939]
VWL1563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19390425 [April 25 1939]
VWL1562 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Daniel Gregory Mason 19390424 [24th April 1939]
VWL1561 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390416 [16th April, 1939]
VWL1560 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Adrian Boult (BBC) 19390415 [Mid April 1939]
VWL1559 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19390414 Friday [14th April 1939]
VWL3928 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390412 12th April, 1939
VWL1558 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390410 Monday [10th April 1939]
VWL1756 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19390407 April 7th [1939]
VWL1502 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390403 [3 April 1939]
VWL663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 193904-- [Newcastle, 29th March, 1939]
VWL3717 Letter from Edward Clark to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390329 29th March, 1939
VWL3720 Letter from Nancy Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390326 March 26th, 1939
VWL1557 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Iris Lemare 19390325 March 25 [1939]
VWL1556 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390322 [22 March, 1939]
VWL5195 Letter from Adrian Boult to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390320 20 March 1939
VWL1555 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19390319 Sunday [19th March 1939]
VWL1554 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ursula Wood 19390313 March 13 [?1939]
VWL3718 Letter from Edward Clark to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19390311 March 11th, 1939
VWL1524 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390310 March 10 [1939]
VWL1523 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Douglas Lilburn 19390306 March 6 [1939]
VWL1522 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy and Gerald Finzi 19390305 March 5 [1939?]
VWL1519 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19390302 Thursday [2 March 1939]
VWL662 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Clifford 193903-- [Early 1939]
VWL3990 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19390227 Feb 27 / 39
VWL1518 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss E. Price 19390227 Feb 27 [1939]
VWL1517 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19390220 Feb 20th [?late 1930s]
VWL5186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Harvey 19390212 February 12 [1939]

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