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
VWL1265 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19340730 Monday [30th July 1934]
VWL1130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193309-- [late September 1933]
VWL1119 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19331026 Oct 26 [1933]
VWL1103 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19331018 Oct 18 [1933]
VWL1095 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19330904 Monday [4th September 1933]
VWL1094 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330830 Wednesday [?30th August 1933]
VWL1088 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330827 Sunday [?27th August 1933]
VWL1051 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330323 March 23 [1933]
VWL1045 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330210 [10th February 1933]
VWL1039 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19330116 [16th January 1933]
VWL994 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19321226 December 26 [1932]
VWL993 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 193101-- Wednesday [January 1931]
VWL992 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19320101 Jan 1 [1932]
VWL958 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19311030 [30th October 1931]
VWL949 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310918 [18th September 1931]
VWL926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310719 [19th July 1931]
VWL922 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310702 [2nd July 1931]
VWL920 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310623 [23rd? June 1931]
VWL918 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310620 [20th June 1931]
VWL898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310107 [7th January 1931]
VWL896 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19310104 [4th January 1931]
VWL887 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301228 [28th December 1930]
VWL878 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301116 [16th November 1930]
VWL875 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19301101 [1 November 1930]
VWL858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19300622 [22nd June 1930]
VWL843 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19300211 [11th February 1930]
VWL708 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19291102 [2nd November 1929]
VWL666 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 192908-- [July/August 1929]
VWL661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19290311 [11th March 1929]
VWL659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Diana Awdry 19290210 [10 February 1929]

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