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
VWL1044 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330207 February 7 1933
VWL1043 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19330201 Wed [1st Feb 1933]
VWL1038 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 193303-- [March 1933]
VWL1013 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320922 [22 September 1932]
VWL1011 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320920 [20th September 1932]
VWL1010 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320917 Saturday [17th September 1932]
VWL1009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jack Gordon 19320916 September 16 [1932]
VWL1007 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320824 Wednesday [24th August 1932]
VWL1004 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320627 Monday [27th June 1932]
VWL1002 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320531 Tuesday [31st May 1932]
VWL1001 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320528 Saturday [28th May 1932]
VWL998 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320316 Wednesday aftn [16th March 1932]
VWL997 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19320309 Wednesday [9th March 1932]
VWL996 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Ivor Atkins 19320211 February 11 [1932]
VWL994 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321226 December 26 [1932]
VWL993 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193101-- Wednesday [January 1931]
VWL992 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19320101 Jan 1 [1932]
VWL987 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19311212 Saturday [31st December 1931]
VWL981 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19360831 Monday smorn [31st August 1936]
VWL977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foster Clark (BBC) 19360810 August 10 [1936]
VWL972 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19311117 November 17 [1931]
VWL969 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19311106 Nov 6 1931
VWL960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19311101 Sunday [1st November 1931]
VWL956 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19360719 July 19th [1936]
VWL954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310920 September 20 [1931]
VWL953 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19360714 July 14 [?1936]
VWL952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19360614 June 14 [1936]
VWL951 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sylvia Drew 19360606 June 6 [?1936]
VWL945 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Sharp 19360522 Friday [22nd May 1936]
VWL944 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19360512 Friday [12th May 1936]

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