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
VWL4615 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19350927 27 Sept 35
VWL4442 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19500208 8th February, 1950.
VWL4235 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19461113 Nov 13 [1946]
VWL4234 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19461026 Oct 26 [1946]
VWL4233 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 194610-- [October 1946]
VWL4232 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19460922 Sept 22 [1946]
VWL4231 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19461125 Nov 25 [1946]
VWL4230 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joseph Cooper 19460918 Sept 18 [1946]
VWL3962 Letter from Gustav Holst to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19330901 Sep 1, [1933]
VWL3651 Letter from Maud Karpeles to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19310720 20 July 1931.
VWL3084 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550424 [24 April 1955]
VWL2786 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540210 February 10th 1954.
VWL2563 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19480212 12th February, 1948.
VWL2506 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19471218 18th December, 1947.
VWL2317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470820 20th August, 1947.
VWL2304 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470703 3rd July, 1947.
VWL2302 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19470626 June 26 1947
VWL2139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19461113 Nov 13 [1946]
VWL2136 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frederick Page 19501227 27th December, 1950.
VWL2098 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arnold Barter 19460918 Sept 18/46
VWL2058 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19460824 Aug 24 [1946]
VWL1704 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 19421014 Oct 14th [1942]
VWL1689 BBC internal memorandum from Sir Adrian Boult to Arthur Bliss 19420915 September 15th 1942
VWL1352 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harriet Cohen 193309-- [September 1933]
VWL1316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19341002 Oct 2 [34]
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]
VWL1207 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19370906 Monday smorn [6th September 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]

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