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
VWL3404 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3405 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19560520 May 20th 1956.
VWL3403 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560517 May 17th. 1956.
VWL3382 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL3400 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560516 May 16th 1956.
VWL3399 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560513 May 13th 1956.
VWL5025 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19560513 May 13th 1956.
VWL3395 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Howells 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL3397 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL3392 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19560506 May 6th [1956]
VWL3393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19560506 May 6th 1956.
VWL3391 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Beryl Lock 19560503 May 3 [1956]
VWL3389 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Callaway 19560426 April 26th 1956.
VWL3388 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560422 April 22nd 1956.
VWL3387 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Simona Pakenham 19560417 April 17th 1956
VWL3700 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19560417 April 17th 1956.
VWL3381 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19560413 April 13 1956
VWL3384 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer, Leith Hill Musical Festival 19560413 April 13th 1956
VWL3359 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560412 April 12th 1956
VWL3320 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher Morris (OUP) 19560410 [On or about 10th April 1956]
VWL3319 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rupert Erlebach 19560407 April 7th 1956.
VWL3318 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560402 Easter [1 April 1956]
VWL3317 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560401 April 1st 1956.
VWL3316 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19560329 March 29th 1956.
VWL5068 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams and others to the Editor of The Times 19560327 Tuesday 27 March, 1956
VWL3314 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL3313 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Barbirolli 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL4588 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Standen 19560326 March 26th 1956.
VWL3311 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Bardgett 19560325 March 25th 1956.
VWL3296 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Edmund Rubbra 19560321 March 21st [1956]

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