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
VWL4073 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Guest 19540815 August 15th 1954
VWL4587 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Richard Standen 19540815 August 15th 1954.
VWL2860 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19540813 August 13th l954.
VWL2858 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL2859 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Howgill (BBC) 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL2857 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Maconchy 19540801 August 1st 1954.
VWL2964 Lines by Gerald Finzi 195408-- [August 1954]
VWL2963 Verse to Gerald Finzi [by Finzi] 195408-- [August 1954]
VWL2847 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540728 July 28th 1954.
VWL2845 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19540724 July 24th [1954]
VWL2846 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540724 July 24th 1954
VWL2844 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19540721 July 21st 1954.
VWL4219 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540715 [between 11-19, July, 1954]
VWL2843 Letter from John Warrack to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19540713 13th July 1954
VWL4754 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Cockshott 19540711 July 11th 1954.
VWL4221 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19540711 July 11th 1954.
VWL2842 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Warrack (OUP) 19540708 July 8th 1954.
VWL2841 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19540708 July 8th 1954.
VWL2840 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roger Fiske 19540702 July 2nd 1954.
VWL4220 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19540702 July 2nd 1954.
VWL4472 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19540630 June 30th 1954
VWL2831 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Cumberlege 19540626 June 26th 1954.
VWL2832 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540626 June 26th 1954.
VWL5115 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Olga Koussevitsky 19540619 June 19th 1954.
VWL2830 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19540617 June 17 [1954]
VWL4477 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Frank Howes 19540612 June 12th 1954
VWL2828 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540610 June 10th [1954]
VWL2829 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19540610 June 10th 1954.
VWL2827 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lyle Dowling 19540606 June 6th 1954.
VWL4562 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harold Watkins Shaw 19540601 June 1st 1954

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