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
VWL2691 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530612 June 12th [1953 ]
VWL5021 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John Buckland 19530609 June 9 [1953]
VWL2690 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael Kennedy 19530609 June 9th [1953]
VWL2689 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to James McKay Martin 19530608 June 8th 1953
VWL3035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs. Hampton & Sons 195306-- [June 1953?]
VWL4340 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530531 May 31st [1953]
VWL2688 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dora Foss 19530528 28th May 1953
VWL2687 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530526 [May 26th 1953]
VWL2686 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530525 May 25th. 1953.
VWL2685 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530520 20th May, 1953.
VWL3033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19530513 13th May, 1953.
VWL2682 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Percy Young 19530513 13th May, 1953
VWL2684 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Rutland Boughton 19530513 13th May, 1953.
VWL3034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs Crow 19530513 13th May,1953.
VWL2683 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Arthur Benjamin 19530513 13th May, 1953
VWL2681 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Charles Cudworth 19530511 May 11, 1953
VWL5178 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society 19530511 May 11 [1953]
VWL3032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19530422 April 22nd. 1953.
VWL2680 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19530422 April 22nd 1953
VWL3031 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Messrs Crow 19530420 20th April, 1953.
VWL2679 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530420 April 20th 1953.
VWL4226 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to an unknown correspondent 19530420 April 20[?] 1953
VWL2678 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530415 15th April, l953.
VWL2676 Reference for Leonard Hancock from Ralph Vaughan Williams 19530415 15th April, l953.
VWL2677 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530415 15th April, 1953
VWL5176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Secretary of the Nottingham Co-operative Society Ltd 19530415 15th April, 1953.
VWL4643 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Oswald Smithers 19530415 15th April, 1953.
VWL4341 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530415 [15 April 1953]
VWL4342 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530408 April 8th [1953]
VWL2667 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530401 1st. April, 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