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
VWL1087 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330824 [24 August 1933]
VWL1043 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19330201 Wed [1st Feb 1933]
VWL977 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foster Clark (BBC) 19360810 August 10 [1936]
VWL954 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19310920 September 20 [1931]
VWL906 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19310322 [22 March 1931]
VWL807 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss (OUP) 19351019 19 Oct 1935
VWL589 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19251101 [About 1 November 1925]
VWL537 Letter from Karl Straube to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19231205 Dez 5th 1923
VWL509 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19230310 [10th March 1923]
VWL507 Letter from Vally Lasker to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19230308 March 8th 23
VWL488 Letter from Lucy Broadwood to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19220129 Jan. 29. 1922
VWL439 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19180220 Feb 20th [1918]
VWL369 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110429 Apr. 29/11
VWL286 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to The Musician 18971027 October 27, l897
VWL188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19041205 [5th December 1904]
VWL178 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19010325 March 25th [1901]
VWL125 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19110311 [About 11th March 1911]

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