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
VWL4480 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Evans 19540103 January 3rd 1954.
VWL3936 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 1954---- March 10 [1954-1958]
VWL3926 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Eila Mackenzie 1954---- [1954?]
VWL2928 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alan Barlow 1954---- [1954?]
VWL4209 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19531231 December 31st 1953.
VWL2749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531226 December 26th 1953.
VWL3987 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19531226 December 26th 1953
VWL2748 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Robert and Beryl Lock 19531226 December 26th [1953]
VWL2747 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Major General Robert Lock and Beryl Lock 19531226 December 26th 1953.
VWL4916 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19531225 Dec 25 [about 1953?]
VWL4423 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer of the Leith Hill Musical Festival 19531223 December 23rd 1953.
VWL2746 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margaret Keynes 19531220 December 20th 1953.
VWL5084 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Jean Stewart 19531220 Dec 20 [1953 or later]
VWL2745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL4208 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joan Shaw 19531216 December 16th 1953.
VWL2744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531208 December 8th 1953.
VWL2743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Roy Douglas 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL4335 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531206 December 6th [1953]
VWL2742 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19531206 December 6th 1953.
VWL2741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Joyce Hooper 19531124 November 24th 1953
VWL2740 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19531123 Monday 23rd [Nov. 1953]
VWL2739 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19531122 November 22nd 1953.
VWL2738 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Eslyn Kennedy 19531101 [About 1 November 1953]
VWL2737 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ferdinand Rauter 19531026 Oct 26 [1953 or later]
VWL3038 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19531025 October 25th 1953.
VWL5023 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19531025 October 25th 1953.
VWL2736 Letter from Ernest Irving to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19531019 19th October 1953
VWL5022 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19531018 October 18th 1953.
VWL4337 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19531018 October 18th 1953.
VWL4922 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Fiona McCleary 19531016 October 16, 1953

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