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
VWL1233 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19340404 April 4 [1934]
VWL1231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19340326 March 26 [about 1934?]
VWL1216 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19370921 September 21 [1937]
VWL1215 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Jenkins 19380920 September 20 [1938]
VWL1212 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370908 Wednesday smorn [8th September 1937]
VWL1211 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370907 Tuesday aftn [7th September 1937]
VWL1208 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370906 Monday eve [6th September 1937]
VWL1207 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370906 Monday smorn [6th September 1937]
VWL1206 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370905 Sunday aft [5th September 1937]
VWL1205 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Professor H.G. Fiedler 19370816 August 16 1937
VWL1194 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Isidore Schwiller 19340304 March 4 [1934]
VWL1192 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Greaves 19340225 Feb 25 [1934]
VWL1188 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370708 July 8 [1937?]
VWL1186 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19471227 December 27 [1947?]
VWL1184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage 19340128 Sunday [28th January 1934]
VWL1181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Julian Herbage at the BBC 19340113 Jan 13 1934
VWL1180 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340104 Jan 4 [1934]
VWL1179 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19340103 Wed [3rd January 1934]
VWL1178 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 193105-- Monday [early May 1931]
VWL1175 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370427 April 27 [1937]
VWL1173 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL1171 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL1170 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370803 August 3 [1937]
VWL1169 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19370711 July 11 1937
VWL1168 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370514 Friday [14th May 1937]
VWL1167 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19370413 April 13 [1937]
VWL1166 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19370411 April 11 [1937]
VWL1162 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Joy Finzi 19370401 April 1 [1937]
VWL1160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19370314 Sunday [14th March 1937]
VWL1159 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Thorpe Davie 19370307 March 7 [1937]

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