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
VWL1019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19321101 [About 1st November 1932]
VWL952 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19360614 June 14 [1936]
VWL944 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19360512 Friday [12th May 1936]
VWL942 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19360506 Wednesday [6th May 1936]
VWL905 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19310307 March 7 [1931]
VWL890 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 193003-- [?March 1930]
VWL885 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19301221 [21st December 1930]
VWL855 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19300412 [12th April 1930]
VWL854 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19300409 [9th April 1930]
VWL844 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19300303 March 3 [1930]
VWL817 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 192910-- [Autumn 1929]
VWL789 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 192406-- [?Mid 1924]
VWL751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ethel Strudwick 19350706 July 6 [1935]
VWL737 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 192608-- [16 August 1926]
VWL683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 193909-- Sept [1939]
VWL667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Royal College of Music 19290322 March 22 1929
VWL632 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward J. Dent 19260701 July 1 [1926]
VWL629 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19280208 [8th February 1928]
VWL628 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19280202 [2nd February 1928]
VWL626 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19271226 [26th December 1927]
VWL597 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19260108 [8th January 1926]
VWL516 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edwin Evans 19230528 28/5/23
VWL513 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230402 April 2nd 23.
VWL506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19230215 [15 February 1923]
VWL505 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19230102 [2nd January 1923]
VWL504 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19221222 22/12/22
VWL285 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 18971015 [Mid October 1897]
VWL228 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.E. Moore 1895---- [1895?]
VWL162 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190803-- [Early March 1908]
VWL160 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Calvocoressi 190801-- [?January 1908]

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