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
VWL1062 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193307-- [About July 1933]
VWL1059 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330705 July 5 [1933]
VWL1058 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19330701 [1 July 1933]
VWL1057 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ina Boyle 19330605 June 5 [1933]
VWL1056 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edward Elgar 19330604 [About 4th June 1933]
VWL1055 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19330415 [About 15th April 1933]
VWL1054 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19330414 [April 14th 1933]
VWL1053 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ralph Wedgwood 19330401 [About 1st April 1933]
VWL1052 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330413 Friday [?13th April 1933]
VWL1051 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330323 March 23 [1933]
VWL1048 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330311 [11 March 1933]
VWL1046 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to A.H. Fox-Strangways 19330220 Feb. 20 [?1933]
VWL1045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330210 [10th February 1933]
VWL1043 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19330201 Wed [1st Feb 1933]
VWL1042 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330128 [28 January 1933]
VWL1041 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330119 [19 January 1933]
VWL1039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330116 [16th January 1933]
VWL1036 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193302-- [Late February 1933]
VWL1035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193302-- [early February 1933]
VWL1034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193301-- [About January 1933]
VWL1032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 193209-- [September 1932]
VWL1028 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330120 Saturday [20 January 1933]
VWL1027 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321229 [29th December 1932]
VWL1024 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gustav Holst 19321125 Nov 25th [1932]
VWL1023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19321117 [Nov. 17. 32]
VWL1022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19321119 Sat [19 November 1932]
VWL1021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19321115 [15 November 1932]
VWL1020 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19321113 [About 13th November 1932]
VWL1019 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Imogen Holst 19321101 [About 1st November 1932]
VWL1018 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321024 24th October 1932

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