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.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3256 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19560103 Jan 3rd 1956
VWL3230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19551126 November 26th 1955.
VWL3089 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19550517 May 17th 1955.
VWL2960 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19490309 9th March, 1949
VWL2455 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19520730 30th July, 1952.
VWL2141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19461125 Nov 25 [1946]
VWL2058 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19460824 Aug 24 [1946]
VWL2010 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19500628 28th June, 1950.
VWL1704 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19421014 Oct 14th [1942]
VWL1451 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19381226 Dec 26 [?1938]
VWL1352 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193309-- [September 1933]
VWL1345 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19341212 [12 December 1934]
VWL1342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19341202 Sunday [2 December 1934]
VWL1291 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19340904 Tuesday [4 September 1934]
VWL1281 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19380213 [13 February 1938]
VWL1273 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19380103 Jan 3d [1938]
VWL1262 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19340610 [10 June 1934]
VWL1259 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19340530 [30 May 1934]
VWL1251 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19371102 Tuesday [2 November 1937]
VWL1177 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193110-- [late October 1931]
VWL1133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193305-- [?May 1933]
VWL1123 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19331113 [13 November 1933]
VWL1120 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19331103 [3 November 1933]
VWL1118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19331025 [25 October l933]
VWL1117 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19361231 [31 December 1936]
VWL1109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19361127 [27th November 1936]
VWL1102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19331016 [16 October 1933]
VWL1100 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19331014 [14 October 1933]
VWL1099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19331001 [About 1 October 1933]
VWL1098 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19330925 [25 September 1933]

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