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
VWL3767 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550929 September 29th, 1955.
VWL3757 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550922 September 22nd, 1955.
VWL3188 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550903 [September 3rd 1955]
VWL4963 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Stanhope-Lovell 19550902 Sept 2d 1955
VWL4078 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19550901 September 1st 1955.
VWL3187 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Choirmaster and members of the Budo Festival Choir 19550829 29 August 1955
VWL3908 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Irene Downes 19550829 August 29th 1955
VWL4962 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Stanhope-Lovell 19550824 August 24th 1955.
VWL3186 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL3185 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550819 August 19th 1955.
VWL3184 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Editor of the Times 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL3183 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anne Macnaghten 19550817 August 17th 1955.
VWL3110 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550815 August 15th 1955.
VWL3182 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550815 August 15 1955.
VWL3181 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550814 August 14th 1955.
VWL4484 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19550812 August 12th 1955.
VWL3129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550810 [August 10 1955]
VWL3128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550808 August 8th 1955.
VWL3111 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19550806 August 6th 1955.
VWL3109 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19550805 August 5th [1955]
VWL3108 Letter from Sir Arthur Penn to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19550804 August 4th. 1955.
VWL3107 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19550730 July 30th [1955]
VWL3106 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19550730 July 30th 1955
VWL3105 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19550728 July 28th [1955]
VWL3104 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550724 July 24th 1955.
VWL3103 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19550717 July 17th [1955]
VWL3102 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19550709 July 9th 1955.
VWL3100 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Katharine Thomson 19550701 July 1st 1955.
VWL3101 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to G.O. May (OUP) 19550701 July 1st 1955.
VWL3099 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Clifford Gillam (Arnold Bax Society) 19550629 June 29th 1955.

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