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
VWL2675 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530401 1st. April, 1953.
VWL4343 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Mary Sheppard 19530330 March 30th [1953]
VWL2674 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19530330 March 30 [1953]
VWL4894 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530326 26th March, 1953.
VWL2673 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530325 25th March, 1953
VWL2672 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Monier Williams 19530325 25th March, l953.
VWL4897 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4898 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530321 March 21st 1953
VWL4648 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Nancy Marsden 19530320 March 20 [1953]
VWL2669 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530318 18th March, 1953.
VWL2670 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19530318 18th March, 1953.
VWL2671 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530318 18th March, 1953.
VWL5174 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Blanning 19530316 March 16th 1953
VWL4895 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 19530315 15.3.53
VWL2668 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530311 11th March, 1953.
VWL3141 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Felix Borowski 19530311 11th March, 1953
VWL2666 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Cumberlege (OUP) 19530307 March 7th 1953.
VWL4053 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19530304 4th March, 1953.
VWL2665 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19530304 4th March, 1953.
VWL2664 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Herbert Byard 19530302 March 2nd 1953
VWL2663 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19530228 [About 28th February 1953]
VWL4645 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Kenneth Oswald Smithers 19530224 February 24th 1953.
VWL2662 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to John & Evelyn Barbirolli 19530220 February 20th 1953.
VWL2661 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Stubbs 19530218 18th February, 1953
VWL2658 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Gerald Finzi 19530218 18th February, 1953.
VWL2659 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Geoffrey Bush 19530218 18th February, 1953.
VWL3952 Letter from Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams to George Frederick McCleary 19530216 February 16th [1953]
VWL2652 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Elizabeth Trevelyan 19530215 February 15th 1953
VWL2654 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Hubert Foss 19530215 February 15th [1953]
VWL2656 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19530215 February 15th 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